Ginny Weasley and the Chamber of Secrets
by RoseDragonWitch
Summary: What was Ginny's point of view when the Chamber of Secrets was opened? This is Ginny's story as she goes from being a lovesick first year to a damsel in distress waiting for her knight to come and find her.
1. Prologue: A Summer to Remember

**Ginny Weasley and the Chamber of Secrets**

(I own nothing. This is just my version of what might've happened during Ginny's first year of school. Please enjoy!)

**Prologue: A Summer to Remember**

**July 31, 1992.**

**Dear Diary,**

**HOGWARTS! I can't believe that I'm finally going this year! I can't WAIT! I just can't wait! I'll be able to spend time with Ron, Fred, George, and Percy again. Speaking of which, Ron's been talking non-stop about his new friends ever since he got back. Their names are Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. Ron goes on about them all the time. And when I say all the time, I mean ALL THE TIME! I knew that Harry was in his year, but I didn't know they were best friends. Ron's really missing him. He's been telling us how great he is though. As if we didn't know. As for Hermione, honestly, the way he talks about her, you'd think they were married. 'Hermione's the best in our year,' he says. I wonder what she's like… but if she is like he says she is, I can't wait to meet her. I can't wait… only one more month to go! **

**Ginny Molly Weasley**

Ginny had just finished filling out the final page in her diary. She only had enough room left to write her name before she stuck it in her pillowcase like she had always done before. She would have to be sure to get a new one before she went to school… she was sure that she was going to have a lot to write about her first year.

At that moment, she heard her brother Ron asking her mother from downstairs, "Mum? Has Errol come back yet? I wrote a letter to Harry a while ago but he hasn't written back yet. It's important."

"Why?" their Mum asked.

"It's Harry's birthday," he said. "But he hasn't been writing back to me all summer."

Ginny blushed as she heard those words. Harry Potter was now twelve. "Wow…"

Ginny Weasley's eyes began to glaze over as she began to daydream. She would be going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with four of her brothers this year. Not to mention with Harry Potter was coming to spend the rest of the summer with her family. She'd had grown up hearing of him, how he had defeated You-know-Who when he was barely a year old. She had heard all the stories, and read all the books on him she could find… she had been wanting to meet him for as long as she could remember.

He just fascinated her… the one and only time she had seen him was when they got off the train a month ago. He was very polite as he thanked her mother for the sweater and the sweets that she had sent him. She could still remember… he had jet-black hair that stuck up in all directions, wore glasses that showed the most beautiful green eyes that she had ever seen. She so wanted to meet him! To get a chance to talk to him.

Oh, it was going to be so exciting, going to school with her brothers and learning so many new things. She had six brothers, although the two eldest were off at their jobs. Bill, the oldest and her favorite, was a curse-breaker for Gringott's Bank. Charlie was somewhere in Romania working with Dragons. She missed them both every day.

Percy, well, they never paid too much attention to each other. He spent all his time trying to become Head Boy at Hogwarts and working on his future to bother himself with her. He had been worrying her lately. All summer he had shut himself inside his room, sending letters to someone and snapping at anyone who would dare to knock on his door. And he had just gotten his O.W.L.'s as well… he out 12 and he barely gloated! He wasn't himself.

Fred and George, the twins, always caused trouble wherever they went, thriving on attention. As long as you weren't the object of their pranks, you couldn't ask for better friends. Unfortunately,

Ron, however, was the one that was the most distant from her—figuratively speaking at least. He was only a year older than her, and they had always been at each other's sides for as long as she could remember. She had missed Ron all last year while he was off at his first year at school, and she had been so excited when he finally came back home.

But when he finally did, Ron had changed. She didn't know how it happened, but he was different now. He was always off plotting with the twins, or telling her to go away so that he could have some time alone. It was funny how, in a house full of people, she didn't have anyone to talk to.

She could always go and talk to her mum. But sometimes she was just so busy; after all, it can't be easy with 7 kids and a husband. Her dad, whom Ginny loved to death, has started working overtime at his job with Ministry. Her dad loved to show her all the new things he brought home from his The Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. He even let her watch as he bewitched some of the things he'd taken from there, as long as she didn't tell mum. Just a couple years ago she watched him enchant some old car so that it could fly.

She never did tell her mum.

But soon she would be going to Hogwarts… she had been waiting to go ever since she'd seen Bill leave on the train… everything was going to be ok once she got there. She just knew it.

_*A couple days later*_

"Ron, please!" begged Ginny sincerely, tailing Ron for what felt like the hundredth time this past week.

"Ginny," growled Ron, getting more annoyed every second. "I've already told you everything I know about him!"

But Ginny wasn't going to give up that easily. She followed Ron all the way downstairs and outside, until he finally turned to face her looking desperate to get her out of his face. "What, Ginny?"

Ginny stood her grown and glared at him. She saw him sighed deeply. "Tell me just one more time, Ron, please!" Ginny pleaded.

"Oh, fine, all right then," said Ron, throwing his arms up in the air, finally giving in. "He has got to be one of the most polite people I've ever met. From what Hagrid says, he looks a lot like his dad, but has his mum's eyes. He hardly ever things about himself, which, let me tell you, gets old really fast. And he's got these green eyes and black hair that just never lies flat no matter what he does to it. He's nerves of steel, Ginny. You should've seen at the end of last year. Hermione told me that he made her go back to get me, and that he went on and beat You-Know-Who, again, for the second time, all by himself. And You-Know-Who couldn't touch him, couldn't lay a hand on him. So Harry, just barely made it out alive."

"_Barely made it out alive?" _said Ginny, eyes wide. "I can't believe it! He escaped again? Wow, Harry's really brave…"

"Yeah, Ginny, he is," said Ron annoyed. "Now why don't you go bug someone else about him? I'm busy with something."

"What?" asked Ginny curiously, though not really paying attention, her mind still wandering, thinking about Harry.

_He must have the most amazing eyes._

_They're green, like his mum's. _

_They must look like jewels… _

"Ginny?" roared Ron. "Will you please leave me alone?"

Ginny, stuck her tongue out at him before she went marching off to find her mum.

"Hi, Mum!" she greeted cheerfully, as she watched her mother flicked her wand, before a knife flew up and started chopping up some vegetables. Another knife was slicing up a loaf of bread while the salt and pepper shakers were hovering above a pot of soup as if hanging on invisible strings.

"Hello, Ginny," said her mother.

Ginny was wondering when Harry would be coming to stay for the summer. Ron had sent at least a dozen letters to Harry, but he was starting to get a bit antsy about how he hasn't been writing lately.

"Ginny, are you thinking about Harry again?" asked Molly with an expression of deep disbelief on her weary, tired looking face.

Ginny said nothing but grinned widely at her mum. "Ron's getting really annoyed at me, I reckon—he told me to get lost."

At that moment, Fred and George both came waltzing into the kitchen, making fun of Percy like they did every day. "Yes, Fred, I just can't wait to go shine my Prefect's badge…" said George mocking Percy's voice.

"I know, George, it's just going to look _magnificent _against my robes…" said Fred, and they both received a glare from their mother.

"If you two were serious for once in your lives thenmaybe you both willhave Prefect's badges to shine!" Molly snapped at them.

"What do we want to be Prefects for?" George asked outraged.

"Where's the fun in that?" Fred agreed.

As Ginny laughed, mum told them to get ready for dinner before she picked up a basket of clean clothes and stormed away angrily, leaving Ginny staring away dreamily out the window.

"Dreaming about someone with green eyes again, eh, Ginny?" Fred whispered into her ear.

Truthfully, she had been thinking about him. In fact, she couldn't stop thinking about him, no matter how hard she tried! Ron knew him, he could be coming any day! How could she stop thinking about that, when he could be here? She couldactually get to meet him…

"Apparently so, Fred…" said George, swinging his hand in front of Ginny's face. She immediately snapped her face towards them, her jaw set in a look that resembled their mother.

"NO!" she yelled at them. "Leave me alone!"

Fred and George grinned as she grumpily got off her chair. "Oh, Harry!" said George, giggling, a hand over his heart before he threw his extra arm around Fred and made kissing noise.

"Yes, Ginny?" Fred said just as dramatic.

Ginny had seen enough. A pit of anger growing in her stomach, she ran up the stairs, making as much noise as she could.

It took her about half an hour for her to calm down. She lay on her stomach, looking over a tattered scrap book that she made. Pasted onto the pages were clipping from the Daily Prophet, articles about You-Know-Who's defeat eleven years ago.

"_Voldemort Falls_", "_Harry the Hero_", "_Where is Potter Now_?", "_Harry Begins Hogwarts!", "You-Know-Who Defeated Again!"_

The stories had been twisted around and exaggerated quite a bit, but Ginny didn't care, because there were plenty of pictures of the three students who had stopped the Dark Lord, and that was more important to her. Her brother Ron and his friends Harry and Hermione Granger smiled up at her.

_'Harry's so brave,'_ she thought, gazing at the moving black-and-white photograph of him. _'I'd be scared to death of facing You-Know-Who, but he did it all by himself. There's no way I could do that. Ron and that Hermione helped a lot I know, but in the end, it was Harry who faced him. Strong, brave, handsome Harry…'_

**(Maybe this is a little obsessive… but come on. Every girl out there has been obsessed about a celebrity at least once in their lives. I should warn you all though, Ginny gets even more obsessive later on—but there's going to be a reason for it! I hope that you come to enjoy this new story. This is what I think could've happened during Ginny's first year at Hogwarts.)**


	2. Looking at His Eyes

**Chapter 1: Looking at His Eyes**

"The first year is horrifying," Fred said, hiding an evil smile that Ginny didn't notice.

"Yeah," agreed George in a tragic tone. "It's tradition. The older students will make your first year a living hell—your dormitory will be in a freezing cold tower and all you'll get is one blanket while the werewolves in the forbidden forest keep you up all night!"

"Yeah… well except on the first night where they make you swim across the lake and fight the giant squid to prove if you're magical enough to be allowed to attend. Care for a pasty?"

"Knock it off already guys!" Ginny squealed, and her brothers laughed. "It's not funny! Be serious for once!"

"But we ARE being serious!"

"No you aren't! I don't believe you!" snapped Ginny.

Ginny had been looking forward to her Hogwarts letter ever since she learned to walk and talk. And she refused to let these two idiots crush her dreams.

"If you two are so smart then what kind of monsters live there?" Ginny asked, missing a sly wink that George gave Fred.

"Oh, the worst kind that you can think of," Fred said, keeping a straight face. "The stuff that hunt your worst nightmares."

"R-really?" stuttered Ginny, trying hard not to let fear slip through her voice.

"Yeah." George said shaking his head. "It's a shame that the punishments at Hogwarts are so harsh… I mean a few first years were actually sent into the forest for being caught out of bed… and then there was the time that they tried to feed the two of us to the dragons that live in the kitchens remember Fred?"

"No there aren't!" Ginny shouted, though she wasn't sure what to believe.

They both laughed at her outburst. "How do you know?" George asked mysteriously.

"Well," Fred said stepping between them, "I would love to tell you more about the horrors that Hogwarts is sure to bring you but now… we ask that you please leave us little sister. We're trying to _improve_ Percy's badge so that it'll… well, we'd rather not tell you."

"How did you steal it from his room?" asked Ginny in disbelief, "He never takes the stupid thing off!"

"He does when he goes to sleep!" George said grinning.

"Now leave!" commanded Fred. "And close the door on your way out. We've got some big plans tonight and we need the peace and quiet."

Grumbling, Ginny slammed the door and went back downstairs. But if she had stuck around a little longer she might have noticed that her brothers sneaking out their window.

That night was uneventful. She finished her dinner without complaint and went to bed… though it wasn't a peaceful night's sleep.

She had a strange dream… she dreamt of being trapped down in a dimly lit chamber—it was very cold and she couldn't move no matter how hard she tried. As darkness began to swallow her vision she heard what sounded like a snake hissing in her ear. Ginny woke up in her bed, sweating and shaking as she gasped for breath. She looked around her room, it was still dark out, trying to figure out what just happened.

'_A dream,'_ she thought in relief. She shuttered before she turned over and went back to sleep. She hated snakes.

When morning arrived, the first thing Ginny heard when she woke up was her mother's voice, and it was not a happy one. Apparently someone was in trouble. Again…

"YOU COULD DO WITH TAKING A LEAF OUT OF PERCY'S BOOK! YOU COULD HAVE DIED, YOU COULD HAVE BEEN SEEN,

'_Now what happened…?'_ thought Ginny as she grumpily sat up, thinking about who on earth could have died. Maybe it had been Dad… he worked at the Ministry, after all.

YOU COULD HAVE LOST YOUR FATHER HIS JOB!"

Ok so it wasn't dad… maybe it was Fred and George then, they did like to experiment… Or maybe Percy had thrown his Prefect's badge out the window by accident and jumped out to get it. She smiled at that last thought.

She could hear her mum fussing at her brothers, and the clattering of plates as she continued to lecture. Ginny wasn't a morning person, but she knew that if she didn't get up soon the boys would eat everything in the kitchen. She swung her feet over the side of her bed and shoved them into her bunny slippers. She'd find out soon enough what all the yelling was about. She got up and groggily came downstairs. Most of the time, Ginny would try and get changed before breakfast, but she didn't bother.

Big mistake.

Still in her nightgown, she walked down a few flights of stairs to see what all the commotion was. Voices echoed from the kitchen just as Ginny reached the first floor landing.

"It was cloudy, Mum!" she heard from Fred or George.

"You keep your mouth closed while you're eating!"

"They were starving him, Mum!"

Starving who? What did her brothers do?

"And you!"

"Who…?" she tried to say as she turned the corner, but she stopped dead in her tracks, feeling like she was about to pass out. She didn't even hear the high-pitched squeak she emitted.

Sitting at her the kitchen table, sitting in front of her—were Ron, George, Fred, and-

A boy with green eyes and black hair… was smiling at her.

It was him…

Harry Potter was sitting in her kitchen!

She couldn't believe it. The Boy Who Lived was in her house. And was looking straight at her… Harry Potter… looking at her… Ginny Weasley.

And she was in was her nightgown.

She could feel herself turning red. He couldn't see her embarrassed! Gut instinct took over Ginny as another small squeal escaped her lips and she ran as fast as she could back up the stairs to the safety of her bedroom. Her fiery hair whipping around behind her as her heart was beating out of her chest. He was here! When did he get here?

But before she got far enough away, she heard Ron say, "Ginny… She's been talking about you all summer…"

That git! He was the one who went on and on about his friends, not her!

"Yeah, she'll be wanting your autograph, Harry." That even BIGGER git! He Right that proved it—she was going to die of embarrassment before she got to Hogwarts.

Humiliated tears burned her eyes as she raced up the stairs and her thoughts rolled around inside her head.

'_He must think I'm so stupid…'_

'_The biggest idiot in front of him…'_

'_What on earth was I thinking…?'_

'_But I wasn't prepared! How was I supposed to know that he was here?'_

Not knowing what else to do, she ran even faster until she slammed her bedroom door shut and locked it for good measure. What was she going to do? She looked terrible! A complete mess! What would he think? How could her mum allow him into the house while she was so… so… unprepared? She struggled to stay calm as her heart slowly returned to normal.

And why hadn't anyone told her he was here? Nobody had told her when he got here… how come nobody told her? And now she'd gone and walked in on him eating while she was wearing her pajamas! Her cheeks reddening anew as this anguishing thought surfaced, and dove under her covers.

Surely everyone must know how much she wanted to meet him! After all she had been bugging Ron all summer about him. Her face flushed as she thought about how she must have looked, with her hair uncombed and in her nightdress. He must think she was so stupid.

Come on… even Ron had noticed that she liked Him. She'd heard all about the fascinating adventures that Ron and his friends had last year while she was stuck at home. Ron had sent a raving letter to her after the first week of school, filling her in on visiting with Hagrid, fighting with Hermione, what a git that their potions master was, and what the castle was like. But best of all, befriending the single, most popular boy in the whole school. After that letter, Ginny had spent days moping around the house; it hadn't taken her long to realize what it was exactly that she was so jealous of.

And now here he was, sitting in the kitchen below her, and she was too mortified to even move. With a sigh, she pulled her head out from under her pillow to look into her mirror above her chest of drawers and wailed soundlessly. Her hair was all tangled together and was sticking out in a fuzzy halo. Her nightgown had little flowers on it, and her she was wearing bunny slippers! She looked like she was 5 years old!

She hid her head again, wishing that she could start the day over.

Eventually, her stomach began to let her know that she was hungry, so she'd brushed out her horrible red Weasley hair (_why_ couldn't she have golden blonde hair? Or maybe even midnight black that looked almost blue?) and put on her best jeans and a rather pretty white blouse with short, lace sleeves. She hadn't dared dress up any more, because her brothers would never let her hear the end of it.

She peeked around the kitchen corner, before she came in. The only one in there was her mother who was at the sink. "Good morning, dear," she said as Ginny came in and took a few left-over sausages from the pan.

"Did the boys go to bed?" Ginny asked, trying to stay casual.

Her mother smiled, although Ginny couldn't quite figure out why. "Heavens, no," she said. "I sent them out to de-gnome the garden. Harry went with them to watch. He's never seen one."

Ginny stopped listen when her mother said '_Harry'_ and went to peek out the window, trying to see if he was really with them. Yes, he was! He was talking to Ron, and although she couldn't hear what was being said, she could see that Ron was hunting in the bushes.

"What are you looking at dear?" her mum said with a sly grin.

Ginny jumped away from the window and said, "N-nothing! Just looking out." Her mum just gave her a knowing smile before she washed the dishes.

Ginny stood on her toes so that she could get a better look at what was going on. If Harry was watching, maybe she could go out there and sit by him—maybe even _talk_ to him, although that meant she'd have to untie her tongue.

But the next second he was joining her brothers, hurling gnomes right alongside them, and Ginny sank back onto her heels with a sigh. She couldn't possibly go help with the de-gnoming in this shirt, and by the time she changed, it would be over with.

So she stood there, just a bit to the right of the window, peeking out beneath the curtains as she watched them spin the gnomes around and around in the air, hurtling them over the fence. Harry's gnome had bitten him, he swung it about the garden, trying to shake the thing off until finally it flew about fifty feet. She couldn't help but giggle at the sight. He was so cute… she blushed again at that thought.

"Do you want some breakfast, dear?" her mother asked, bringing her back down to earth.

"Huh? Oh, yeah," she said as she skulked back to the breakfast table and ate some eggs with little enthusiasm.

"Are you feeling well, Ginny? You're not eating much."

Ginny shrugged, toying with her last piece of toast. "Mum? How long is Harry staying?"

"Until you children leave for Hogwarts," her mother replied, as she started drying the dishes.

Ginny's head snapped up. "He's not going home?"

"As _if_ I'd send him home to those Muggles…" Her mother was clearly angry about something, rubbing the already dry plate harshly. "They had him locked in his room, feeding him nothing but tinned soup, honestly they better hope that they never meet me or I…"

Ginny was horrified. How could anyone be that awful? Locking up one of your family members and starving them? She felt anger boil in the pit of her stomach but before she could say anything, her mum started talking again.

"I suppose he'll have to go back next summer, but we'll ask him to stay as soon as possible. Some people, I don't know—Ginny can you go out and pick some basil from the garden for me?" A bit calmer now, she glanced at her daughter. "Though I think that you should change that shirt."

"Alright, I'll go change," Ginny said as she took one last sausage with her on her way up.

She hesitated over what to wear as she went back up the stairs, '_Might as well wear something comfortable and not have to worry about ruining anything. Probably Harry won't even notice_,' she added sadly.

She went to her room again, and had just thrown on a worn-out looking t-shirt when she heard the loud bang of the front door being slammed. Her father must be home. Ginny looked back out at the garden, noticing that the boys were all heading back inside. As she pulled a pair of torn slacks she heard her parents downstairs.

"…The things our lot have taken to enchanting, you wouldn't believe-"

"LIKE CARS, FOR INSTANCE?"

'_Poor Dad,'_ she thought as she then heard a pair of footsteps coming up the stairs.

She turned so fast that she hurt her neck. It might be Harry…

Maybe this time she could get a good look at him, she wanted to get a good look at him. She couldn't resist herself, just for a minute—she slowly creaked open her door, just a bit, as the footsteps got louder and louder. It was Harry.

She could see the top of his head, his black hair sticking up every-which-way. His round glasses, which magnified the most beautiful pair of emerald green eyes she had ever seen.

She didn't dare go out on the landing, but continued to stare as if mesmerized. Her heart was beating so loudly that she was surprised that he couldn't hear it… Suddenly Harry looked right at her.

The moment that Harry's green eyes met hers, Ginny she could feel her heart stop for a brief moment.

She slammed her door shut,_ 'What is wrong with me?'_ she thought. Dreamily, she was pressing her back against her bedroom door with a smile, a blush, and a sigh.

She then pressed her ear against the door to hear what they were saying. Oh, no! She heard Ron telling Harry it was her. Through the wood, she heard Ron muttering, and say quite clearly, "Ginny. You don't know how weird it is for her to be quiet. She never shuts up normally…"

'_I'm going to kill Ron!'_ she thought angrily, cheeks flushing with embarrassment. How dare he say something like that to Harry! She was going to get him back for this somehow. What must Harry think of her now? Especially if all Ron was going to do is badmouth her? A part of her wanted to stay in her room for the rest of her life.

If Harry replied at all, she didn't hear it—although why should he be particularly interested in her? She kept making such a complete idiot of herself! Definitely not the best first impression. She'd never had a worse first meeting ever before in her life.

She paced her room, thinking about what Ron just said, _'Never shuts up he says—could say the same about you Ron. Harry and Hermione this, Harry and Hermione that… I haven't been able to get a word in since you got home! None of us have.'_

Unfortunately, Ginny did have to leave her room when her mother called her for lunch that day. Thank goodness that the twins and Ron and Harry were all sleeping. Her parents told her how Ron and the twins stole the car and retrieved Harry from the Muggles. Mum was still mad at dad, who was trying hard not to grin at how successfully his boys had pulled it off. He gave Ginny a quick wink across the table, while he nodded his head to his wife and pretended to be severely disappointed in his sons.

"Did you get to meet Harry, Ginny?" dad asked her once mum had finally turned back to the sink. He knew how excited she was to meet Harry.

Ginny nodded, smiling. "I like him, daddy."

Her father's eyes twinkled merrily at her. "I'm glad," he said. His expression changed as he regarded her intently. "Our little girl's growing up, Molly," he said to mum. "She's going to be leaving us soon." He reached pulled her into an affectionate hug.

"I know, Arthur," her mum replied sadly. "But we knew this day would come, although I would've prefer to wait a few more years."

"And I had been hoping that she wouldn't be interested in boys for another few years," dad said, which caused Ginny to blush all over again.

"DADDY!" she cried loudly, embarrassed. But then she saw that he was laughing. "I'm kidding, I'm only kidding," he said as he pulled her close.

Ginny buried her head into her father's shoulder. "I'm finally going!" she said happily. "And I'll be put in the same house as the rest of the family…"

'_A__nd Harry of course,'_ she added to herself with a smile.

"Yes, Ginny. Weasleys have always been in Gryffindor," her father said smiling at her. "And you definitely have all the qualities of a Gryffindor and I know you'll make us proud."

Ginny flushed at her father's praise. "Thanks, Dad."


	3. A Girl Can Dream

**Chapter 2: A Girl Can Dream**

Ginny was counting down the days when she would finally get on the train for Hogwarts, but she was also terrified about what might happen to her once she got there. What if she wasn't very good at magic? What if she got to school and she hated it? What if she didn't get into Gryffindor? Would she disappoint her family if that happened? What if she didn't make any friends? What if Harry Potter didn't like her at all?

Ginny suddenly wondered what Harry thought of her home—did he like it? She knew her family never had much money, and sometimes it was hard to get by. Not that she cared about how the house looked like; she loved the Burrow and the look of utter uniqueness about it. But she couldn't help but wonder if Harry didn't like it?

"Ginny?" her mum's voice called up from the lower level, "Come down for dinner!"

Ginny sighed as she got up from her bed and shouted, "Coming!" She headed downstairs, but before she did, she made sure that she looked alright. Her red hair was brushed so thoroughly that it was smooth and silky, and her clothes were all clean and neat—she looked as though she was going out on a date.

As she headed downstairs, she ran into the two people that she was dreading on meeting the most.

"Oh, look Fred," George said cheerfully when he spotted Ginny.

"I know George," Fred grinned, "So, how's our little love sick sister doing now?"

Ginny fought to keep her temper down, but apparently it backfired, because her face started turning red.

"Why would you lookie here, Fred! She's blushing!"

"I am NOT blushing! I'm trying to stop myself from clobbering you!"

"Then why have you gone all red?"

"Because you're making me angry!" she yelled.

They both shared that annoying smile that she hated, as if they knew something she didn't. She glared at them both as she marched away before they had the chance to say anything else at her expense.

That night at dinner, things didn't go as well as Ginny had hoped. She was fine until Harry finally entered the kitchen with Ron and sat down next to her father, who began bombarding him with all sorts of questions about Muggles. His eyes widened in amazement just like a little kid on Christmas morning when Harry was telling him how the Muggle post worked. Dad would sometimes turn his attention to her and ask things like, "Did you hear that, Ginny?" "That's just amazing isn't it?" or "What do you say to that sweetheart?"

And to make matters even worse, whenever he would talk to her, it caused Harry to glance at her and then her tongue would tie up and she would forget where she was. But that wasn't the worse part… for some reason she always seemed to be in the middle of chewing her food whenever her dad would talk to her. And whenever her eyes met Harry's, her fork never failed to miss her mouth and she would end up with dribbling food down her shirt.

Almost as humiliating as Harry seeing this, Fred and George would snigger at her and making pufferfish lips at her, which made her feel like crawling underneath a rock and die.

Once, she ended up dropping her fork, and when she dove underneath the table to fetch it, she ended up hitting her head on the corner of the table. Fred and George finally burst out laughing at her, and as mum scolded them her dad turned to her and asked, "Ginny, what's gotten into you?" which caused Harry to look at her again.

She didn't think her face could get any redder as she felt Harry's eyes on her. She was so embarrassed that she was the first one up from the table and ran straight for the safety of her room.

The next few days were some of the most embarrassing moments that Ginny had ever known. She couldn't help but think to herself, '_You think that having the cutest boy on the face of the Earth staying in your own house for the summer would be a good thing…'_

But things just weren't that easy. Every time she saw him, her mind would go blank and couldn't move. Even if he wasn't around, she spent her time looking for him and wondering what he was doing. And to top everything off, whenever he spoke to her, she forgot how to talk. Every time he asked her to pass something at the dinner table she would almost drop it just because his hand brushed against hers.

And whenever she made a fool of herself, her brothers would tease her about it.

"I don't know how to break this to you Ginny," Fred said once, "But… I don't think that Harry is interested in the girls who wear their food."

"Yeah," agreed George. "And, I might be going out on a limb here, but I think that he really wouldn't mind if you answer him when he talks to you."

"Ginny," Ron whispered to her during lunch when everyone else was talking to each other, "I know that you fancy Harry, but what makes you think that he'll ever go for you?"

That caused her to let out a loud shriek of rage at him, which caused everyone to stare at her—including Harry. Angry and mortified, she pushed her half-eaten plate away from her and ran from the room.

Which was actually a good thing… She was able to sneak into Ron's room and hide in his closet so that when the boys went up, she could hear them talk for hours and hours before they left the room to head down to dinner. She slipped out of Ron's room once they were gone and quietly made her way downstairs.

Her mum was too busy trying to force Harry to eat several helpings, and her dad was asking him how a rubber-ducky worked, Percy was reading from one of his textbooks, and the rest of the boys were talking about Quidditch. Her family failed to notice her quietly slip into the room…

But neither did Harry.

Not that she could blame him, who not only seemed delighted in everything that happened in the house, but he also seemed to be thriving on it. He had endless patience for answering and explaining all of the questions that her dad just seemed to have to ask him and ate everything that mum put in front of him without complaint.

He was always very polite to Percy, but seemed to prefer to avoid speaking to him if he could help it. (Not that she blamed him) He spent most of his time outside with her other brothers, who always seemed to have a brilliant time playing Quidditch. He even smiled at her every so often, when her brothers gave her a hard time he never joined in, and was even nice enough to pretend not to notice when she knocked things over or forget to talk when he said something to her.

That only made her like him even more.

About a week after Harry had come to say. Ginny woke for breakfast before the rest of the boys and went downstairs for her food where her parents were already sitting. As she was pouring some sugar on top her porridge a large barn owl flew in the open window with a thick wad of envelopes in its beak, dumped them on the table and took off before she or her parents could so much as blink.

"Ah, I'd been wondering when these were coming," her mum said, wiping her hands on her apron and picking up the pile of letters.

"Here it is, Ginny!" her mum said thrilled. "Your very first Hogwarts letter!" And sure enough, she gave her the top envelop which read, _Miss G. Weasley, The Burrow_ written in bright green ink.

Ginny felt her heart begin to swell in pleasure as she took it and ripped it open in excitement.

_Dear Miss Weasley, _

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…_

She read the contents of the letter, and re-read them just to make sure. But there was no mistake, this was a letter from Professor McGonagall, telling her that she was ready to start school. She looked up at her parents, shining in excitement who beamed back at her, delighted at her happiness.

At that moment, she heard voices from the hallway. "What d'you want to do today, Harry?"

"Dunno—you want to finish that match we started yesterday?"

Ginny tried to push her bowl aside so that she could put her Hogwarts letter in a place where Harry couldn't help but notice, but instead she accidently pushed it so far to the edge that it fell onto the floor and splattered everywhere just as Harry entered the room.

Embarrassed and cursing herself she dived underneath the table to hide her face from him. She could feel her face burning as red as her hair, which happened to be the brightest shade of red imaginable, as she was finally forced to sit up.

Even after a week, she just couldn't get used to having the famous Harry Potter in the same house as her. She knew that she had to get used to it; after all, he was going to Hogwarts as well.

Harry, of course, pretended he didn't notice this, which was one of the many things Ginny had come to really like about him. When she saw he was looking at her, she blushed even more, but Harry turned away and began to strike up a conversation with one of the twins.

'_He sure is nice,'_ she thought with a sigh.

Her mum handed the boys their letters and they all read them in silence. Ginny wasn't paying attention to anything except trying to clean up the mess under her chair. Thankfully, they were too immersed in their own letters to bother with her. By the time she finished cleaning up she saw Fred looking over Harry's shoulder so that he could read Harry's book-list.

"You've been told to get all Lockhart's books too! The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher must be a fan." He smirked, "Bet it's a witch."

He gave mum an odd look before he quickly looked away as she glared at him. Ginny smiled to herself, they all knew that mum had a thing for Lockhart, and the twins and their dad just loved teasing her about it.

But then George's voice was a little more worried than Ginny was used to hearing began speaking, "That lot won't come cheap. Lockhart's books are really expensive…"

At those words, she immediately flipped to her own school list that she didn't notice before. Lockhart, Lockhart, Lockhart, and more Lockhart… Ginny's excitement quickly turned into a frown with every word she read, realizing just how much everything was going to cost.

Not only did she have to get the rest of her school supplies like a wand and cauldron, but Lockhart's books were also listed, all seven of them. She felt as though a plug had been pulled from her stomach and all her happiness went down the drain.

As to confirm her worst fears, her mum said in her brightest voice, "We'll manage. I expect we'll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny's things second hand."

Ginny frowned. She had been hoping that she would've been able to get those new robes… but thanks to these books, there was no way that it was going to happen. Ginny didn't know why she was so disappointed—she should've seen this coming.

She sighed and looked at Harry, before she realized that he was talking to her, "Oh, are you starting Hogwarts this year?"

Ginny, who was torn between embarrassment of having to get second-hand supplies and the fact that Harry was actually talking to her, could only nod as she tried to straighten herself up and look more adult.

Unfortunately, the butter dish was in the way and her elbow was now covered in butter. She looked around, waiting for one of her brothers to mention it, but they were all still staring at their letters so they missed it. She looked back at Harry, knowing that there was no way that he could've missed that blunder.

She was grateful that he pretended not to notice yet again.

Thankfully, Percy just walked in with his stupid badge still pinned to his front, and everyone turned their attention to him. "Morning all. Lovely day!"

He sat down in the last empty chair, but immediately sat up again before pulling an owl out from beneath him.

"Errol!" cried Ron, taking the limp owl from Percy. "Finally— he's got Hermione's answer. I wrote to her saying we were going to try and rescue you from the Dursleys."

He carried the ancient old over to his perch before he opened the letter and read out:

_"Dear Ron, and Harry if you're there,_

_"I hope everything went all right and that Harry is okay and that you didn't do anything illegal to get him out, Ron, because that would get Harry into trouble, too. I've been really worried and if Harry is all right, will you please let me know at once, but perhaps it would be better if you used a different owl because I think another delivery might finish your one off._

_"I'm very busy with schoolwork, of course'—_ How can she be?" said Ron as his face looked horrified. "We're on holiday!

—_'and we're going to London next Wednesday to buy my new books. Why don't we meet in Diagon Alley? Let me know what's happening as soon as you can. _

_Love from Hermione."_

'_Love…?'_ Ginny thought, suddenly annoyed with the letter.

"Well, that fits in nicely, we can go and get all your things then, too," mum said happily. "What're you all up to today?"

Ginny pretended not to pay any attention to when the boys all said that they were going to finish their Quidditch game up the hill. She wished that they would invite her along. She had been longing to be able to show Harry how well she could fly and have him think that she was a fantastic player… and want to be able to spend time with her.

But then again, maybe it was for the best that she stayed behind. She would never have been able to stay on her broom if Harry was watching.

When all the boys had left, Ginny sighed unhappily; thinking about what an idiot she was. "Ginny?" she heard her mother speak as though from far away. "I need to talk to you. I know that I said that we might've been able to get you some new robes, but these book lists—"

"It's ok," Ginny said, letting out the hurt and disappointment that was swelling inside of her. "I know what you're going to say. We can't afford it."

"I'm sorry," mum said, looking at her daughter with sympathy. "And I wish that I could get new robes for all of you, but five sets of Lockhart books… and your father is already working overtime at the office… but I promise to make it up to you."

"It's ok," Ginny said dully. She was just angry at herself for getting her hopes up that she would actually get something new for a change.

"Why don't you go play Quidditch with your brothers? I think your father's broom is out in the shed and I'm sure that he wouldn't mind," she suggested.

"No, I don't want to," Ginny sighed as she looked out the window at their retreating backs. "And besides, they wouldn't want me to butt in anyway."

"That isn't true, dear," mum said gently.

"They said that the game's to rough for me," Ginny told her. "I'll just be in my room for awhile."

And she ran before her mum could say anything else, wanting nothing more than to get away from everyone.

Ginny brought her desk chair over to the window and sat down, looking at the four boys throwing apples at each other. She could gaze at him unnoticed, without anyone knowing a thing, and no one making fun at her.

She watched as they were laughing and joking with each other, unaware that someone was watching their every move. Everything was, for once, going well. They couldn't see her—which meant that she could stare at Harry for as long as she wanted—she only wished that she had closer view of his face.

She knew that Ron was right, Harry _was_ a great flyer. Years of watching Quidditch games had taught her that much at a glance. As he swooped and dived she lazily thought of the real games she could watch him play this year at school. There wasn't any doubt in her mind that he was best on the team… after all he was the youngest player in a century, had the best broom she'd ever seen, AND had the most astonishing natural talent the she had ever seen.

How could he not be the best?

Everything about him fascinated her. He was so short and small, and yet he had managed to defeat the most evil dark wizard to have ever lived when he was only a baby. She couldn't help but wonder what sort of powers he had. He must've had some extraordinary magic to have been able to stop You-know-Who dead in his tracks.

Yet, despite the fact that he was world famous, he was also the nicest and most polite person she had ever met. He never laughed when she was picked on, or at her clumsiness when she tripped or dropped something. Her parents treated him as if he one of their own sons, and he in turn seemed to love everything about her house and family.

She knew that she was going to have to eventually say something to him, but for right now, speech was impossible. Ron, being the git that he was, would just tell her to go away and leave them alone and since Harry was constantly with Ron, Ginny hadn't been able to say one word to him alone. So, Ginny kept to herself, deciding that she would just wait until the right moment to talk to the emerald eyed boy.

A smile flitted across her lips as she closed her eyes, drowsy with contentment, and dreaming about the day that he would finally notice her, and he became her Quidditch star. She was finally going to Hogwarts… there was a future famous Quidditch player right underneath her window… heck she didn't even care about those new robes at the moment.

Things would work out in the end.

A girl can dream can't she?


	4. Shopping Day

**Chapter 3: Shopping Day**

"Hurry up, Ginny. Lockhart's at Flourish and Blotts today! We'll be able to meet him while we do our shopping!" her mum cried excitedly.

It was Wednesday morning and after a quick breakfast, they were all gathering around the fireplace and were getting ready to use the Floo. Ginny kept them all waiting because she had to run back upstairs and get her bag.

"Sorry," she muttered as she tucked her money safely into her coat. She had been saving her pocket money for the last couple years and was hoping that she would be able to buy her own wand. She didn't want to go to school with one of her brother's old wands like Ron had to. She watched as her mother picked up the flowerpot that held the Floo powder and looked into it.

"We're running low, Arthur," mum sighed, "We'll have to buy more today. Ah well, guests first! After you, Harry dear!" She then held out the pot of Floo powder to him. Harry looked apprehensively at it, as if unsure what to do.

She was able to seize the opportunity to look at him and study his expression. Why on earth did he look so confused? Oh, she just realized that Harry might not have ever traveled by Floo powder before. But, she didn't say anything in case she stuttered and ending up mumbling gibberish.

"W-what am I supposed to do?" Harry asked finally, and Ginny resisted the urge to giggle. He looked so cute with that confused look.

"He's never traveled by Floo powder," said Ron, and Ginny rolled her eyes as she thought sarcastically, _'Really? What gave you that idea?_'

But Ron was still talking to Harry, "Sorry, Harry, I forgot."

"Never?" asked dad interested. "But how did you get to Diagon Alley to buy your school things last year?"

"I went on the Underground –," began Harry, and dad looked like his birthday had come early.

"Really? Were there _escapators_? How exactly –"

"Not _now_, Arthur," Mum interrupted, to Ginny's immense relief. It wasn't as if she didn't like it when her dad went on talking excitedly over Muggle things for hours on end… she just didn't think now was a good time. "Floo powder's a lot quicker, dear," Mum explained quickly to Harry, "but goodness me, if you've never used it before –"

"He'll be all right, Mum," said Fred, but Mum only looked more worried. "Harry, watch us first."

Fred stepped in the fire, threw down the powder, yelled, "Diagon Alley!" and was taken away in a blur of emerald flames. Molly explained to Harry about how to pronounce the words clearly; just when George disappeared, followed by Percy.

Her dad also disappeared in the tower of green flames before Harry, taking a deep breath, finally stepped in the fireplace, took the Floo, and said, "D-Dia-gon Alley" and with that, Harry spun out of view. Leaving Ginny wondering on how he was doing.

Mum quickly nudged Ron. "You go next…" she said, "Make sure that everyone made it through alright. Ginny, you go after Ron."

Once her brother was gone, mum held the pot out to her and she finally stepped forward. She began to grow even more worried for Harry; her dad said to her once that if you don't say the name of the location that you want to arrive at clearly, then the Floo Network will become confused and send you to a random area. If Harry wasn't in Diagon Alley, he could've ended up anywhere, though it was likely that he still somewhere in London… she hoped anyway.

Taking her handful of powder, she stepped into the fire, and said loudly, "Diagon Alley!"

She felt the familiar sensation of being sucked into a drain, kind of like a funnel, before she was spinning around and around. When she finally opened her eyes, she was sitting in a pile of soot in the middle of the bustling Diagon Alley, with Fred, George, Percy, and Arthur looking down at her.

"You ok?" dad asked as he helped her to her feet.

"Yes," she said, brushing off the filth from her clothes. She looked around… the rest of her family was here, but no black-haired boy was with them. "Did Harry make it alright?" she asked her dad.

Her father's face fell, "We thought he must be coming after you."

"No," said Ginny slowly, "He left before me."

Before she could really begin to worry, mum came out behind them.

"All right," she said, brushing ash off her skirts and not realizing the anxious looks on everyone else's faces. "We should get going before…"

"Mum," murmured Ron, his ears turning slightly pink, "Harry's not here. He must've gotten off at the wrong grate."

Mum blinked several times before she stared around her as well to see that it was true. Ginny knew that her parents had already considered Harry like part of the family. They just adored him, and she that it wasn't because he was famous. What was it about him? He was shy and a bit humble… maybe that was it? But he was also so cute that… oh, stop thinking like that!

"Oh, no! Arthur, what are we going to do?" her hands flapped dramatically as she just stared at him.

Her dad, tried his best to help her calm down, "Now don't worry Molly. We can't lose our heads… if we stay calm we're sure to find him. You know Diagon Alley has more than one grate. He could have gotten off at any of them. Why he could be in one of the shops or something… he might've just gone one grate to far! Why don't you and Ginny go look for him in some of the shops while the boys and I search the streets?"

And so they split up; her dad and brothers went one way and Ginny went with mum. They glanced into different stores, though it was hard to see anything with all the people doing their shopping. They roamed in a few of the stores, her mother craning her neck to see if she could find Harry among the customers, though she looked like she was going to cry. The twins were simultaneously running around, with Ron turning his head so much that he looked like a top. Percy and Dad were calmly and politely asking random shoppers if they had seen a boy with black hair and glasses wandering by.

After about half an hour of searching, her mum was starting to become really hysterical. She pulled Ginny along after her, swinging her bag around like a weapon. They both felt enormous relief when they heard dad calling out to them, "Molly! We've found him! Over here!"

"Thank God, Arthur!" mum cried with her hand over her heart. Ginny turned to see where her dad was. She nearly become lost in the sea of people and had to clutch her mother's hand even tighter as Harry came into their view. She felt the familiar sense of embarrassment of whenever she saw him… but it was intensified at being caught holding her mum's hand but knew she would be more embarrassed if she found herself lost and they would have to look for her as well.

She then saw that there was another man standing with Harry. She felt her jaw drop as she stared up at him. He was huge with a great big beard that made him look so… wild.

But her father seemed to know him. He was talking with him as if he was an old friend. Harry must have known the giant as well because one of his dust bin sized hands was resting on Harry's shoulder. She gazed up at him in amazement, her neck hurting as she had to lean back so far to see his face. She could see very kind, beetle black eyes and a wide smile shining from his beard.

"Harry! Oh, Harry, you could have been anywhere!" mum said, almost crying with relief.

Ginny blushed as Harry's green eyes fell on her; but she couldn't help smiling as mum let go of her hand. She tried not to laugh as her mother pulled out the clothes brush from her handbag and started brushing soot off of Harry, while her father fixed his glasses. Ron was busy talking to a girl that she only just noticed. She looked to be about Ron and Harry's age, with large brown eyes, bushy hair, and large front teeth that clearly showed from her smile.

Ron turned to them and said, "Mum? This is Hermione!"

"Really? Oh, hello, Hermione," mum added pleasantly to the girl. "It's a delight to finally meet you."

That's Hermione? So this is the girl that Ron had been talking about all summer. She looked like she was really nice, but she hoped that Harry didn't already like her. Ok, where are all these thoughts coming from?

After Hagrid left, they headed straight for Gringotts.

_*In Gringotts*_

The enjoyed the ride inside Gringotts, she screamed with delight as they went faster and faster through the underground tunnels in the little goblin cart down to her family's vault.

But that didn't last long when she saw what was inside. There was only one Galleon and one small pile of Sickles. Ginny could have cried when she saw her father hardened face, and her mother groping for every last Knut in the corners. While Fred stared at the small bag, George was looking at their mother with a sad expression that didn't suit him at all.

Ginny then glanced over at Harry and saw him flush deep red, before she too began to redden… she wished she stayed outside.

The journey to Harry's own vault was much deeper underground but when the goblin opened it, she thought her eyes would pop out of her head. You would've had to been blind to miss the bright gleam of gold and silver shining behind the door. Harry quickly slipped inside and Ginny looked around the door to get a better glimpse.

There were mounds of gold and silver, and Ginny found herself craving the money. She was just thinking if she could ask Harry for some to buy those new robes with. But she knew what the rest of her family would say if they knew.

But as she saw Harry trying to block the gold from view as he put it into his back, her longing for the money faded. She just realized that this was probably the only thing that Harry had left from his parents.

She looked back at her own family before looking back at Harry, hurriedly tucking a bag filled with coins inside his pockets. She hated being poor, hated having to buy everything secondhand, but at the end of the day, she would rather be poor then lose her family. She suddenly felt a new sympathy rise up for Harry.

_*Outside*_

Back up at the surface, she and her mum went off shopping for her things while the rest of her family split up. Her father, went off to the Leaky Cauldron with Hermione's parents to buy them a drink and most likely talk about Muggle items. Harry, Hermione, and her brothers all went wandering off on their own.

She and her mum set off down the streets, making up for lost time. But when they passed by Madam Malkin's glossy display window, she couldn't help but give the new robes a yearning glance until they were out of sight.

They spent most of the hour trying on old robes of different sizes, at a secondhand store. She ended up choosing a pair that were too long, but her mother promised that she would fix the helm as soon as they got home.

She got her cauldron, scales, potion ingredients, and everything else before they finally went to Ollivanders for her wand. She pulled out her own small purse and told mum that she wanted to pay for it. At least she would be able to get a new wand.

The tinkling of the bell announced their entry into the store. The store was tiny, with boxes upon boxes stacked up to the ceiling. At that moment, Mr. Ollivander appeared from the shadows. "Ah, Molly Prewett!" he cried when he saw her mum. "It's been too long! Cherry wood and unicorn hair, 10 ½ inches… unyielding was it not?

Mum smiled as she pulled out the exact one. "Yes, and still in good shape!"

"Wonderful!" he said before he stared directly at Ginny, "Ah, this must be… your daughter?"

"Naturally," mum said proudly, as she put her hand on her shoulder. "This is Ginny."

Mr. Ollivander nodded before he pulled out a tape measure, "Which is your wand arm?" he asked her.

"Right," she muttered as Mr. Ollivander started taking measurements. Once he was finished, he put away the tape measure before he began scuttling about, giving her the history of all the wands that he sold to her family before he pulled out one of the boxes.

"Try this, elm and phoenix tail feather. Nine inches, very firm…" Ginny held the wand in her hand for just a few seconds before it was suddenly snatched out.

"No, no. Here, try this one. Beachwood and dragon heartstring… 11 ¾ inches… strong…" That too, was quickly snatched before Ginny's fingers could close around it.

This went on for about 5 or 6 more wands, until finally: "Ah, Rosewood and unicorn tail hair… 10 inches—very flexible." The wand barely touched Ginny's hand before her hand began to tingle, and she brought the wand down with a swish. Pink and gold sparks flying from it.

Mr. Ollivander and her mother applauded happily before Ginny paid for it and were bowed from the shop. She insisted on carrying it herself, after promising her mother that she wouldn't take it out of its box until she left for school. "Goodness, me! We're running a little late, we need to be meeting the others at Flourish and Blotts."

Flourish and Blotts was filled with so many people there was hardly any room to move. People, mostly women around her mom's age, were all standing in a line, wrapping around the bookshelves.

"Ooooh!" her mum tittered, and patting her hair. "Gilderoy Lockhart just arrived!"

Ginny looked over at the swarms of pictures posted all around the shop, a man grinning in them. He grinned too much, was Ginny's first impression of Lockhart. He also seemed to be a bit too cheerful, too perky, like he constantly practiced talking to himself in the mirror.

He had perfectly groomed golden hair, an uncommonly large smile, baby-blue eyes, and was very handsome. Ginny stared studied him for a minute; yes he was very handsome… however, Ginny wasn't crazy over golden hair or blue eyes. She preferred dark hair that stuck out crazily with deep green eyes and glasses… she frowned at her thoughts… '_Where did that come from?'_

And as if on que, the object of her thoughts appeared out of nowhere, followed by Hermione and the rest of her family. They all gathered up the new books and waited to buy them, as her mother peered over their heads to try and get a better look at Lockhart. Ginny rolled her eyes; her mother was obsessed with Lockhart.

Before realizing that it was exactly the same way that SHE felt about Harry! But just as she thought that, Lockhart looked over at their group and she nearly jumped out of her skin when Lockhart shouted, "It can't be _Harry Potter_!"

He leaped to his feet, his golden hair bouncing around, and with a lunge, he took Harry's hand and yanked him to the front.

Ginny was pushed aside as they watched Harry uncomfortably try to escape Lockhart's grip. Cameras flashed, reflecting off Lockhart's teeth, and poor Harry looked like he wished he could vanish. Her heart went out to him as Lockhart asked the photographer to make sure he took lots of pictures of them and they would surely make front page of the _Daily Prophet_ after this.

Harry was looking embarrassed and silently mouthed to Lockhart that he really didn't want to be there. But she didn't think that Lockhart was listening… and if he was, then he ignored him.

"Ladies and gentlemen! What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time! When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography — which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge —"

Everyone else applauded, but Harry was looking deeply annoyed and humiliated.

"He had no idea that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

It took several minutes for the cheering to subside. Apparently, most of the star struck witches and wizards couldn't wait for Lockhart to teach their children everything that he knew. But to her, it looked like the only thing that this announcement did was upset Harry because he was right in the center of the attention.

Harry dashed away as quick as he could, when he had the chance, and ran back to her family, his arms weighted down the stack of free books he had been given from Lockhart. She stood next to her new cauldron and peered up at him at him nervously.

He passed her family and was coming straight towards her… her mind was racing, trying to think of something to say… But before she could think of any words, Lockhart novels were dumped into her cauldron.

"You can have these," he mumbled to her. "I'll buy my own—"

To anybody else, this wouldn't have meant much to them—they would've just said thank you and gone about their day. But Ginny's heart leapt with joy. Harry Potter had given her a gift and not only that, but it was just one less set of Lockhart books that her family had to pay for!

When she finally found her voice she opened her mouth, not knowing what she was about to say, but then she saw a blond hair, pale skinned, sharp faced boy standing right behind Harry.

"Bet you loved that didn't you, Potter?" he sneered at Harry. "_Famous_ Harry Potter. Can't even go into a _book shop_ without making the front page."

Feeling a deep fury rise up within her, she heard herself say, "Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!" It was the first time that she had been able to find the nerve to speak in front of Harry and she could feel his eyes looking at her. She pretended not to notice as she glared fiercely at the boy.

"Potter! You've got yourself a _girlfriend!" _he said loudly. Ginny felt her face turn red in yet again. But she couldn't tell if it was from awkwardness at being called Harry's girlfriend or from the extreme anger that she was feeling. She was so furious that she didn't even noticed when Ron and Hermione had joined them.

"Oh, it's you," her brother said with an unpleasant look on his face. "Bet you're surprised to see Harry here, eh?"

"Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley. I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for that lot."

Ginny felt herself grow even angrier if possible, but she wasn't the only one. Ron was looking furious as well and he also dumped his books into her cauldron before trying striding over to the boy, looking like he was going to punch him. But Harry and Hermione held him back.

"Ron!" dad called before was able to make his way towards them with the twins, "What are you doing? It's mad in here, let's go outside."

"Well, well, well - Arthur Weasley," said a cold voice. She looked up and saw a tall, thin man whose striking silver hair was identical to the boy walking towards them.

"Lucius," her dad replied coldly. This was Lucius? Lucius Malfoy? So then this must be his son Draco… Ron had complained and insulted him all summer.

Just like how her dad did to Mr. Malfoy.

He told her that the Malfoy's were the kind of family that strutted about, happy to be a completely pure-blood family thinking that any and all Muggle-born witches and wizards were scum on their shoes and those who associated with them or Muggles themselves were blood-traitors.

"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," said Mr. Malfoy with his slick voice that gave her the creeps. "All those raids… I hope they're paying you overtime?"

She could only watch as he extended an arm and snatched up her battered transfiguration book. He waved it in her dad's face, "Obviously not. Dear me, what's the use being a wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"

Her father was absolutely livid; she couldn't remember ever seeing him that angry. "We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," he said as she watched him clenched and unclenched his hands several times before holding back his anger.

"Clearly," said Mr. Malfoy, glancing at Hermione's parents, who were watching, bewildered. "The company you keep, Weasley… and I thought your family could sink no lower…"

A loud crash sent her cauldron flying as her dad finally snapped. He attacked Malfoy, knocking him back into bookshelves. She plastered herself against the wall, trying to get out of the way as the two men exchanged punches, and books falling from the shelves. Her father was so kind—so even tempered, that he would never hit one of his seven children even if they disserved it, and yet here he was… attacking Malfoy like he was a punching bag.

She could hear one of her brothers cry out, "Get him, Dad!" Not that she blamed them, she personally was just sorry that she never got the chance to punch that idiotDraco Malfoy who just had to come up and tease Harry. Then he'd just had to embarrass her in front of him and then Ron… before his father came in and insulted everyone else.

If she had to be honest with herself, she was glad her father had lost it and assaulted Malfoy; anything was worth it when you got to see a Malfoy get hit in the eye with an encyclopedia of toadstools.

At last, after several minutes of fighting, Hagrid appeared—and pulled them both apart. Both were bloody and bruised but Malfoy shoved Ginny's book back into her cauldron before snarling, "Take it, girl, it's the best your father can give you."

The book hit the bottom of her cauldron with a muffled thud. He gave one last glare at her before commanding his son, "Come Draco!" And then he walked through the door with a dramatic sweep of his expensive robes.

"Ginny?" Hermione asked softly, "Are you alright?"

Ginny glanced at Hermione's worried face. She nodded, only regretting that she never had the chance to give Draco a black eye to match his father's.

"Here, let me help you," Hermione said as she began picking up books. Ginny looked down, seeing the contents of her cauldron spilled out on the floor. They gathered up her things, the books that they all needed, and quickly left. The trip back to the Burrow was awkward to say the least. Her mother scolded her father all the way back and the rest of them didn't say a word.

All and all… it could've gone much better.


	5. Ink and Paper

**Chapter 4: Ink and Paper**

Ginny went back up the stairs, dragging her new/old cauldron with her into her room. Panting in excitement, she shut the door before she dumped the heavy load onto her bed. She smiled at her school supplies and walked to her window to let in some fresh air… or rather get another glimpse of the paddock when she saw that the boys hadn't wasted any time finishing their Quidditch game when they got home.

'_Harry,' _she thought with a sigh as she watched him fly. Harry was racing her twin brothers on his Nimbus Two Thousand, and she just couldn't help but sigh dreamily at the sight of him. From the moment she saw him at King's Cross Station just a year ago, she knew that he was someone special. And then when Fred and George told her and her mother who he really was, she became even more captivated by him.

How on earth could her dense brother Ron become his best friend? Not that she was complaining… if he wasn't then she would never have gotten the chance to meet Harry. It had been two weeks since he had come to stay with them… and yet she still had been doing nothing but make a fool of herself in front of him. Knocking things over, tripping and falling over herself and every other thing she came in contact with like an idiot. How can she possibly get him interesting in a girl like her?

Ginny watched them all throw apples to each other before she finally walked back across the room, to flop down onto her bed and began to look through her school books. When she picked up the new books Harry had given her—she hugged them close to her heart.

Not because she liked Lockhart of course. She saw the way he acted in the book store and she didn't like how uncomfortable that he made Harry. Really, couldn't the git see that Harry didn't want to be in the paper?

She was about to get up and tell Lockhart off, but before she could open her mouth, Harry was able to pull himself away with the free books that Lockhart gave him. And then… she smiled at the memory, Harry had given them to her. Not to Ron or any of her brothers—not even to Hermione, but to her. _"You have these," he'd told her, "I'll buy my own-"_

She gently laid them aside before she picked up her Potions book and flipped through it with interest. She heard her brothers complain about the Potions teacher at school, they called him Snape, and from the sounds of it, she wasn't going to be looking forward to any of his classes. She lay that down before reaching for her Charms and Herbology books… she heard everyone talk very fondly of Flickwick and Spout… she couldn't wait for their classes.

Finally, she picked up her Transfiguration book, to flip through it. She looked at its battered and torn cover and sighed sadly. She knew she was being selfish by wishing it and the rest of her things were new like her Lockhart books… but she couldn't help it. Was it really so wrong that she wanted nice things for school?

She forced that out of her mind as she opened the cover; but as she did, a small black book fell from of it. Blinking in surprise, she picked it up and stared at it. At first, she thought she had one of her brother's books by mistake or maybe some loose pages, but it turned out that it wasn't a schoolbook at all.

It was a very old book, much older than her Transfiguration book as she noticed the shabby black leather cover, the faded gold embossed the date printed on the back, along with the name of the bookstore where it must have came from: _Vauxhall Road, London 1942_.

It was fifty years old. She began go through it, but she needn't have bothered because every single page was blank. It must've just been an old diary, she finally decided.

She thought that it must've fallen into her cauldron during the brawl between her father and Malfoy in Flourish and Blotts earlier that afternoon. It was then she noticed the name **T. M. Riddle** was written in faded, smudged ink on the inside cover, confirming that it was indeed a diary. She couldn't help but smile. She had been wanting another diary but she never thought that she would get it before going to school

Ginny wondered why anyone would ever want to throw away an unused diary like that—maybe because it was so old that they thought it to be useless? Or maybe they just forgot about it? She didn't want to throw it away; someone had obviously wanted it enough to keep it safe by hiding it inside another book. The thought of having writing in this diary made her excited and she reached into her bedside table for a quill and some ink.

She ignored the strange feeling that something was wrong as she dipped her quill into the ink and held it over the first blank page, wondering what she should say first.

_Dear Diary,_ she finally decided on. She knew that it wasn't very original, but what else could she say to a diary?

_My name is Ginny Weasley. _

_Today we went to Diagon Alley and Harry used the Floo powder wrong and got lost in Knockturn alley. You should've seen Mum, she was frantic! I'm glad that we found him though; he could've gotten into some serious trouble if he was lost._

She paused, wondering what to write next.

_When we went to get our new books, we met Lucius Malfoy and his horrid son Draco. I call them horrid because they're so rude and cold-hearted. I couldn't believe how terrible someone could be. He insulted our family and Dad just lost it and attacked him. No complaints there, he deserved it. _

_But oh, Mum was so angry at dad, but I'm not too worried, she just can't stay angry with him for long. She has no problem with staying angry at any of my brothers, but she just can't bring herself to be angry at Dad… she tries but it never works out._

She paused for a moment, wondering what else she should say before a slight blush began to cover her cheeks.

_Speaking of Harry, I think that it's safe to tell you that I think I like Harry. Like, as in REALLY like. Not just a silly crush… or is it a crush? I'm not so sure. It feels like so much more than that. But I never felt like this before so I don't know what it is. I want to tell you that I think that he's got the most beautiful green eyes that I've ever seen… but how can I get him to notice me? I mean, I'm just his best friend's little sister after all?_

Her hand started to hurt so she laid the book aside and waited for it to dry as she thought about what she should write next. But as she watched, something strange happened—and this was saying a lot because she's used to strange things happening all the time if you're in the Wizarding world.

As she watched, the ink… her words soaked into the pages right before her eyes and disappeared.

What on…? Had the ink bled through the pages or something? She flipped to the next page to see, but was as blank as the one before it. As she turned it back, thinking that it was some kind of trick, she saw that writing appeared again… but it wasn't in her handwriting. This was in a neat, black script that she didn't recognize with words that she knew that she didn't write.

**Hello, Ginny Weasley. My name is Tom Riddle. How did you come by my diary?**

In fear, she shut the book and tossed it across the room away from her. What was this? Books weren't supposed to talk back! She was almost sure that Fred and George were the ones who planted it on her and were playing yet another prank on her. But she looked back towards her window to see that they were still going at their game. She knew that if it was them, then they would've waited for her to find it so that they could laugh at her.

So did that mean that they didn't give it to her as a joke?

Ginny turned from the window and looked back at the little black book lying innocently on the floor. If it really was a joke from her brothers, what was the worst that it could do to her? Spray ink in her face? If that was it then her brothers were losing their touch. But the more she thought about it, how on earth could they have slipped it into her cauldron? As far as she knew, they never had enough time to slip it in… did that mean that it was an enchanted diary that she accidently picked up back at the bookstore? She heard of magic books that kept your secrets safe from her mother. Was it possible that this was one of them?

She carefully went over to the book and picked it up. She opened it to see that the words were already gone. Curious, she carried it back to her bed and dipped her quill in her ink pot to write the words, _Hello_? _I found this diary inside one of my books. Who are you? And how are you writing to me?_

She waited for a few seconds, and sure enough, her words disappeared to once again be replaced by words that she didn't write.

**Why yes, Ginny. Really, there's no need to worry. I'm just an understanding listener who was made help the problems of others.**

Ginny thought about this for a minute. Really? A diary that helped others and listens to their problems? It didn't seem dangerous… just like a little friend that you can talk to when you're lonely. Come on… how hazardous could it really be?

She wrote back and said,

_That sounds nice. I'm really surprised that a book is talking back to me to me. Did you say that your name is Tom?_

**Why yes, Ginny. And I completely understand your surprise to find me. I'm sure it was quite a bit of a shock for you. After all, most diaries don't talk back to their owners like I do. You said you found me in a school book didn't you? If you don't mind me asking, what school are you attending?**

_Oh, I'm starting my very first year at Hogwarts! Do you know about Hogwarts? I just can't tell you how excited I am about going!_

**Of course I know about Hogwarts! I was once a student there myself long ago, that is where I learned to make this special diary for others to convey their secrets and keep them safe. I'm sure you will love it there as much as I did. Tell me, are you the first of your family to attend Hogwarts?**** Or do you come from a wizard family?**

_Oh no! _She wrote back. _I come from a big family of wizards and witches. In fact, I've got six older brothers who are wizards. My oldest brother is Bill and then there's Charlie but they both already left Hogwarts. But I still have my other four brothers at school with me. And my mum and dad were students there too before they got married. _

Ginny was finding it easier to keep writing to Tom. But at that moment, she remembered what her parents always told her… _'Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps it's brain.'_

But this was just a talking diary, what kind of harm could it do to talk to it?

_So you went to Hogwarts too?_ she wrote.

**Yes, but that was so very long ago. Tell me Ginny, just how old are you? You said that you were starting your first year?**

_Yep, I just turned eleven. What's Hogwarts like? None of my brothers will tell me about it. Did you like going there?_

**Oh, it was my first real home. Can you please tell me more about yourself, Ginny? I haven't had anyone to talk to for a long time and fill my empty pages.**

Ginny felt so bad for the book that she couldn't help but write back.

_Well, what can I talk about? I already told you that I have six brothers and that Bill and Charlie already left school. Bill works as a Curse-breaker for Gringotts in Egypt and Charlie's in Romania studying dragons. Mum worries about them all the time. Then there's the third oldest, that's Percy, and he is such a stickler for rules. He's a Prefect and I have to tell you that it's no secret that he wants to be the next Minister of Magic. Then there's my twin brothers Fred and George… but we also call them Gred and Feorge. They're pranksters… Mum and Dad get more letters from school about them then everyone else combined. In fact, I kinda thought that you were just another one of their pranks. But now I see that you aren't and I'm glad. Then there's my last brother, Ron. He's only a year older than me and he just started school last year. My Mum and I are real close but she's always so busy—I mean it can't be easy to take care of a family of nine. Then there's my Dad, he works at the Ministry of Magic in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. That's everyone Tom._

**My, that certainly a large family you have there, Ginny. I have to say that I envy you. I was an orphan and I didn't have anyone there for me like you do. I'm afraid that I was born and grew up in a Muggle orphanage, it must be so nice to have such a wonderful family like yours.**

Ginny thought of that. Yes, it was nice to have such a large family. But even then, it could get pretty lonely sometimes. She then wrote to Tom:

_I suppose you have a point. Don't get me wrong, I love them all but they can be a bit too much sometimes. I really am sorry to hear that you're an orphan, Tom. I can't imagine just what it must've been like for you. _

**Thank you, Ginny. You sound really sweet. Please tell me more. What do you look like?**

Ginny smiled. She really liked Tom. This was getting real fun and the rest of her suspensions about the diary were now gone.

_Well, I'm nothing special. I have bright red hair like the rest of my family. I already said that I'm eleven and I'm going to be starting my first year at Hogwarts and I'm so excited! I've been looking forward since Bill went! _

**I have to say that you sound like a very beautiful young lady, Ginny.**

Ginny blushed deep red. Grinning broadly she saw more words appear.

**I will understand if you don't want to talk to me Ginny. But you have nothing to fear. I am merely**** an enchanted diary that I made when I went to school. I was a little afraid of going to school at first and once I learned enough, I made this diary to help others get over their fear and find some comfort should they need it. And yet I feel so empty.**

Ginny laughed slightly._ Of course you're empty, all of your pages are blank, but I get the feeling that you aren't talking about that?_

**You have a wonderful sense of humor, Ginny. And you are quite right. As you said, I have many pages that are indeed blank. The soul reason I was made was to be a friend, someone to tell your secrets to if you need it. But I can't tell you just how long it's been since I had someone write in my pages. I know that I was brought to you for a reason Ginny. It's been so forlorn, and I know that fate brought me to you to end that loneness. I sense that you too are also lonely?**

Ginny thought about that. Yes, she was lonely. She missed having someone to talk to and make her feel special and not to worry. Maybe Tom was right and the diary was brought to her for a reason?

_Maybe a little bit,_ she wrote to him.

**You see? **Tom wrote.** I must've been brought to you so that we can both put an end to it. I promise to listen to you and help you in any way I can. All that I ask of you, Ginny Weasley, is to trust me. Will you use me as I was meant to be used and tell me all your secrets to keep safe?**

Ginny smiled. Oh, Tom sounded so sweet and kind. It would be so wonderful to talk to someone who could understand her and not have to worry about sounding stupid.

_Ok, Tom, I would love to share secrets with you as long as you promise that you won't tell anyone else._

**Thank you! I promise that I won't tell another living soul about you. I can't tell you how much this means to me! Now I don't have to worry about my pages being empty for much longer. Now come, please tell me your secrets! I want to know everything about you!**

Ginny could only think of one secret that she thought would be worth telling, her biggest… her love for Harry Potter.

_No matter how stupid this sounds I want to know that you won't laugh when I tell you about him. His name is Harry Potter. He's also known as The Boy-Who-Lived. And I'm so glad that he did because I think that he's the most amazing person on the face of the earth!_

**That sounds interesting. I'd love to hear all about this boy who lived.**** Just who is he? **

_You mean to tell me that you don't know anything about Harry? _she wrote in surprise. _Harry Potter? Hasn't anyone else ever written in here before? _

**No, I have never heard of Harry Potter before. I'm just a diary, not much to do. I don't know anything that's going on in the world unless someone writes to me about it.**

_That sounds different. Where do I begin? Well you see, Harry is this boy that I really like. I don't just mean like, I mean that I REALLY, REALLY like him! He's a year older than me and I think that he's the cutest person I've ever seen! He's my brother's best friend and they met on the train to Hogwarts last year. He has all this thick, messy black hair that sticks up all over the place and the most beautiful, bright green eyes—they look like little emeralds! And if he's cute now, I'm sure that he's going to be so handsome when he gets older! And not only that, but he also happens to be one of the most famous people in the Wizarding world! And he's staying at my house!_

**Now that **_**is**_** interesting. But what on earth could this boy have done to make him so famous? **

_Oh, I'm sorry Tom. I keep forgetting that you haven't talked to anyone for awhile. I just grew up knowing his name. Like I said before, Harry is called the Boy-Who-Lived. You see, when he was only a baby, he defeated You-Know-Who! No one knows exactly how he did it! And I remember Ron telling me once that he doesn't even remember what happened that night either. But you see he's the only person to survive the Killing Curse. All he has is a scar that looks like a lightning bolt on his forehead; that from where You-Know-Who tried to kill him, but somehow it backfired and turned on him. Harry's famous because he defeated the __darkest wizard of our time. _

**That is remarkable. But just who is You-Know-Who?**

Ginny hesitated for a moment before answering. She had always been taught never to use the name. But no one ever said not to write it down? Besides, it couldn't hurt if she told Tom.

_Well, you see, from what I've been told, You-Know-Who is the name we use to refer to the Dark Lord… You-Know-Who's real name was Voldemort.__ Have you heard of him?_

She didn't know if she was imagining it, but to her it seems that the diary paused in its writing. But then it spelled out,

**My, that is different. You certainly know a lot. I can't say that I ever heard of this Dark Lord. So how is it that this Harry Potter defeated him?**

_I don't know. No one does. Like I said, he was only a year old when You-Know-Who was defeated. But from what I've been told, You-Know-Who came to his house and murdered his parents. But when he tried to kill Harry the curse somehow backfired on him and then he disappeared. Harry escaped with nothing but his scar and was sent to live with his Muggle aunt and uncle! Two weeks ago, my brothers Ron, Fred, and George went to go and get him and he's been staying here with us ever since!_

**And you are sure that no one knows how he did it?**

_No one._

**How extraordinary. So what happened to this Lord Voldemort? How did he disappear?**

_That's the strangest part of the story. You see, no one really knows for sure what happened to him. Many say that he is dead, but many more believe that he is still alive, and to this day are afraid to even speak his name. We just call him You-know-who. _

**And what was You-Know-Who before he disappeared? He sounds like an incredibly powerful and dark ruler?**

_Oh, Tom! He's been written in so many books as the most evil Dark wizard of the century! He caused the deaths of thousands of innocent wizards and Muggles when he was in power and even killed two of my uncles! My Mum's twin brothers, she still misses them a lot. Everyone says that there was only one wizard he was afraid of and that was Albus Dumbledore. Do you know who he is?_

**Albus Dumbledore? Yes, I know him. He was Transfiguration teacher while I was at Hogwarts.**

_Really? Wow, he's been there for a long time then. He's the Headmaster now. Everyone says that he's the best Headmaster that Hogwarts ever had, even though I never met him. _

**I see, well I can tell that he's come a long way then when he was just an ordinary teacher. Please tell me more about this boy who has captured your heart? **

Blushing madly, she was delighted to tell someone all she knew about her favorite subject, Ginny spilled out her heart onto the pages.

_Harry's an orphan just like you, Tom. It's so sad that he's famous for something that was so tragic. I told you how his parents Lily and James Potter were murdered by You-Know-Who. You-Know-Who wanted the whole family dead for some reason, no one's sure why, but You-Know-Who went to their house in Godric's Hollow on Halloween night almost 11 years ago. Once they were dead, he tried to kill Harry, who was just a baby, but he just couldn't do it and I'm so glad. You-Know-Who disappeared and no one has seen or heard from him since then. Harry's so cute! And he's always so polite and nice to me; he really is something else._

**That is remarkable to hear, Ginny. And he goes to Hogwarts to right?**

_Yes, he does! He's a second year student along with my brother Ron and their friend Hermione. He's in Gryffindor House with the rest of my brothers. All my family has been in Gryffindor and dad says that I'm sure to be placed there as well. What house were you in, Tom?_

**I was Prefect for Slytherin house, and Head Boy at one time.**

Ginny paused for the briefest second. She had been told many times that the Slytherin house had turned out more Dark wizards the then other three houses combined. But Tom had obviously never heard of You-Know-Who before, and after all, he lived around fifty years ago. This was before You-Know-Who was around. Maybe Slytherins weren't so bad back then? And even if they were, Tom was different from them; he seemed to care about her.

_If you don't mind me asking, Tom… but what exactly is this diary? How did you get it to talk back like this?_

**It's an attention-grabbing story. You see when I was sixteen, I created this diary by putting my memories inside it. I guess you can say… I put a piece of myself inside these pages.**

_A piece of yourself?_

**Yes, one can almost say that I put my heart and **_**soul**_** inside here. Now enough about me, please tell me a little more about yourself, and this Harry Potter character.**

Ginny wondered for a brief second why Tom kept asking about Harry, but if you just heard about a story like this then of course you would want to know more. Besides, she enjoyed talking about him anyway so off she went.

_Harry's staying with us for the rest of the summer and he's going back to school with the rest of us in just two weeks! He's so nice and polite! I haven't been able to speak to him at all since he's been here though because I just get so shy whenever he's around. I'm afraid that he won't like me._

**Why shouldn't he be? You sound like you're a very sweet girl.**

_Thank you, Tom, I'm so glad that someone thinks so. Oh, it's so nice to have someone to talk to. I know that I have such a large family but they're always so busy with their own projects or with work and chores that they never seem to find time to listen to me. But I wish I could work up the courage to talk to Harry…_

**I understand. I can see why this Harry Potter has caught your attention. I don't blame you for being interested in him.**

_But I can't even bring myself to talk to him, Tom. He barely notices me! You see, every time I open my mouth, I forget how to talk! He's just so special and I just don't know how he could ever like a girl like me. But today at Flourish and Blotts, I think I already wrote about this, Draco Malfoy, this idiot who insulted me and my family, was teasing Harry about having his picture taken with this famous writer called Gilderoy Lockhart. I think that he's just jealous! Harry didn't want to have his picture taken, I could tell, he wasn't even smiling, and his face was so red! But Lockhart didn't listen to him. After Harry was able to get away, he gave him his entire book collection for free! You see we need the whole Lockhart book set because Lockhart HIMSELF will be teaching at Hogwarts this year. His books are really expensive and my family is so poor. I was so worried about how my family was going to pay for it. But then Malfoy appeared and started throwing insults at him. I know that Harry didn't deserve it, and I don't know what I was thinking but I told him off right in front of Harry! He then told me that I was Harry's girlfriend which embarrassed me but I also wish that it was true. But do you know what Harry did?_

**No. What?**

_He gave me the free Lockhart books! Isn't that so sweet? Looks like I finally got something new for a change. _

**That's very kind for a boy that doesn't notice you Ginny. I think that you don't give yourself enough credit.**

Ginny smiled at the thought that Harry might just notice her more than she thought.

**Thank you for telling me all this Ginny. I can't tell you what it means to me.**

_I'm glad to! _She wrote back quickly. _I love talking about Harry and I'm so glad to have someone like you to talk to, Tom! I can talk to you whenever I want, can't I?_

**Of course, Ginny. I'm glad you found this diary as well. It's nice to have someone to talk to, someone like you.**

Ginny blushed at his comment.

_Then I don't feel embarrassed about telling you that I'm also just a little nervous about going to Hogwarts._

**You're nervous? But why on earth? Hogwarts will be some of the best years of your life.**

Ginny wrote, _I don't know. I guess I just don't want to get there and find out that I won't have anyone there who'll like me._

**What about Harry?**

_Maybe you're right and he sees me more than I first thought, but how do I get him to really notice me, Tom? I want him to look at me and see someone other than just as 'Ron's little sister.'_

**I'm sure that someday he'll notice you, Ginny. You just have to be patient. He just hasn't had a chance to really get to know you yet. Maybe if you just find out a little more about him, you'll find it much easier to talk to him. **

Ginny liked this idea. Smiling, she scratched at the paper.

_That's a great idea, Tom. I know you'll be a great friend and if I need any help you'll be there for me won't you?_

**Yes, Ginny, I promise. Now, you**** said your brothers tease you. That doesn't sound very nice of them.**

_Well, not all the time._ Ginny wrote._ Don't get me wrong, I do love them, but they can be a bit too much sometimes._

Ginny couldn't remember ever talking more. Tom seemed like the most perfect friend that you can have. He was so kind and patient with her as she told him everything, and most comforting was the way he was always willing to listen to what she had to say about Harry, even asking questions that she never thought of before. She couldn't say just how great it felt to be able to pour everything out to him. She had a lot of things to say, but most of them were about Harry.

After awhile, there was a knock at the door which caused Ginny to jump, forgetting where she was. Her mum's voice called from behind the wood, "Ginny? Dear, are you in there? I haven't heard from you all evening."

"N-nothing, Mum," Ginny called back, "I-I was just going over all my new things!"

"Well, I'm glad that you like them. But could you please be a dear and go fetch the boys for dinner? And if you want me to mend those robes you'll have to hurry."

"Yes, Mum," Ginny said unenthusiastically, rolling her eyes, and trying to hide a sigh of annoyance.

Ginny looked back at the page of paper, suddenly realizing just how tired she was, although it was still quite early.

_Tom, I could go on and on about Harry all night, wish I could. But my Mum's calling me for dinner and I'm suddenly really tired. I think that I'll go to bed early tonight. I'm really glad I found you today. I can't wait to share more with you. _

**All right then. I do hope that you write to me again soon, Ginny. I so enjoyed your company. **

_Thank you, Tom. _

**Promise to write to me tomorrow then?**

_I will. Goodnight, Tom._

**Goodnight, Ginny.**

Ginny blushed again and closed the book shut, her hand cramped up from all the writing and suddenly really tired.

Ginny came downstairs to the wonderful smell of her mother's cooking on the stove. "There you are dear," Mum said. "Go and get your brothers so that we can eat."

Ginny nodded as she walked through the gardens to the paddock behind the house, running her fingers through her hair, and neatening up her clothes. She felt like a wreck, and she wanted to look at least half-way decent in front of Harry.

As she reached the field, Ron was the first to notice her. He flew over to her shouting, "What is it Ginny!" as he slowed down and hovered just above the ground near her.

"Dinner's ready," she said as her eyes glanced up at Harry for a second, as came from the other side of the field.

Fred, who overheard them, grinned happily and shouted out to the night, "DINNER'S READY!" And one by one, the boys flew back to the edge of the paddock and landed.

"Great, I'm so hungry that I feel like I could eat a giant three-headed dog! How about you Harry?" Ron asked his best friend with a laugh.

Harry laughed at some kind of silent joke between them as he landed next to Ron and they all headed to the house. On the way there, Harry looked at her and smiled kindly.

Ginny smiled weakly back as she tried to keep her head raised up high, trying to show him that she could be more than just a shy, and silly little girl. But she almost tripped from not watching where she was going and would've landed flat on her face if Fred didn't have his hand out to her and spun her around as though they were dancing. Harry blinked in surprise before he smiled even wider which made her blush even redder.

Once Harry and Ron were a little ways ahead of them, Fred let her go and whispered, "Don't worry Ginny, I don't think he noticed."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said coldly. She was glad that he stopped her from making a fool of herself in front of Harry yet again, but his words were making her feel stupid.

George leaned in and asked in a sly voice, "What's with you and Harry anyway? I mean, we all know that he's cute with little jeweled eyes and everything… or so you say ickle Ginnykins…"

Ginny felt like her head would soon catch fire from all the heat that rushed into her face. How on earth are you supposed to tell someone that the only thing that you cared about anymore is the guy of your dreams?

There was no way that she could tell them… they would never let her hear the end of it. Or worse… tell Harry how she felt. But she was sure that Tom would understand her though. She would be sure to tell him first thing tomorrow. She smiled at the thought of telling her new friend all her problems and making her fell better. She couldn't remember ever feeling so lighthearted and at peace about anything… except for maybe when she first saw Harry?

After dinner, she smiled happily at the little diary in her hands before she put it underneath her pillow and put her ink and quill on her bedside table, ready for use in the morning. She was so tired that she fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit her pillow; dreaming of Harry Potter, her new friend Tom, and—for some strange reason—a sink with a tap that didn't work.

**(Wow, this was a long chapter. Hope that those of you who enjoy this story liked this chapter. I know that ickle Ginnykins is a little obsessed, but it's going to prove to be really important much later on. Thank you for those few of you who have taken the time to read this and I hope to have the next chapter up soon.)**


	6. The Hogwarts Express

**Chapter 5: The Hogwarts Express**

The last few weeks at the Burrow were fairly uneventful. Ginny wrote in the diary for hours every day, talking about her brothers, her parents, what life at the Burrow was like… and of course, Harry. Ginny would write until her hand would cramp up and she would have to stop and massage it until she could write again. As Ginny grew more comfortable with Tom, she became more open, telling him all of her secrets, all of her fears. Only Tom knew of her wish to be seen as Ginny, and not just as the Weasley sister. Tom knew about how much she admired Harry Potter, and constantly asked her for every detail about him she knew, which Ginny was only too willing to give.

Today she was telling Tom everything she knew about Harry's home life with the Dursleys.

**Muggles? So Harry Potter lived with Muggles? What are they like?**

_Yes, _Ginny wrote back._ But they're awful people! I overheard Fred and George talking about how they locked Harry up in his room and only feeding him one can of soup a day! Can you believe that? I also heard Ron mention that they even put bars on Harry's window! How can anyone be that cruel? And his aunt is his mother's sister no less! How can she bee so evil to her own nephew like that? _

**They truly sound horrible, Ginny. And to Harry Potter no less.**

_Exactly! I don't get it! If only I could work up the courage to talk to him about this. But I get the feeling that he might not like it if I bring this up._

**Too true. I say that you should just be patient and wait for him to talk instead of the other way around.**

_But how can he talk to me if he never notices me?_

**He will someday, Ginny**, Tom wrote back. **You just have to wait for him to see just how special you are. It might take some time… but I'm sure that he'll notice you.**

_I certainly hope so, but I'll have to get all my brothers out of the way first otherwise they'll tease me for the rest of my life. _

And that was how most of their conversations would go. Ginny would tell Tom all of her worries and fears, and he would give her wonderful advice and words of comfort while asking her for every detail. Until, at last, it was finally the last night of the summer holidays. Ginny was going to make sure that she finished packing before she went to sleep, but it was starting to get late and she was still talking to Tom.

_Only one day left, Tom, _she wrote, snuggling down into her pillows. _We leave for Hogwarts tomorrow morning. I'm so excited!_

**I'm excited too-it'll almost be like being back there again. I seem to remember you telling me that Dumbledore is the new Headmaster?**

_Oh, he's been Headmaster for ages! Everyone talks about him as being the best teacher and Headmaster Hogwarts ever had. Was he a good teacher, Tom? He taught you didn't he?_

**Yes, he did. And I have to admit that he was a excellent teacher. He was terribly strict, and he was suspicious of everyone. In me specially for some reason.**

_Really? _Ginny asked in surprise. _My parents think very well of him, and even all my brothers like him. Harry especially has a lot of respect for him._

**Oh, well-it **_**has**_** been fifty years. People change, I suppose. But that doesn't matter anymore. More importantly, you are going to take me with you aren't you?**

_Of course I am! You're the first friend that I'll have while I'm there. And if things don't work out for me, I know who I can turn to for help. I mean, if you've already been to Hogwarts, you can give me some tips on what to do. I wouldn't dream of leaving you behind._

**That means a lot Ginny. I'm so glad that we're friends. Now tell me, what time do you leave tomorrow morning? Is it still Platform 9 ¾?**

_Yep! The Hogwarts Express leaves exactly at eleven. But we have so much to do tomorrow. After all, there will be six of us leaving, so we will probably be getting up really early, probably at the crack of dawn. I don't know how Daddy's going to fit six trunks, two owls, a rat, and eight people into the car, but I'm sure he'll think of something. He always does somehow._

**I'm sure he will too. Your dad sounds like an amazing person. I wish I could meet him.**

_He is! He's the best! A little… eager about his job, but you couldn't ask for a better father! I wish you could meet him too. I wish he could meet you._

**Maybe someday, Ginny. But it's starting to get late isn't it? I'm sure that you can write to me tomorrow.**

_Your right. I've been so tired lately, and I have to get up early. We have a big day tomorrow. But I promise to write to you again soon. Goodnight, Tom._

**Goodnight, Ginny. Don't forget to pack me****!**

_I won't! I'll do it right now in fact! Night._

Ginny shut the book and was about to get up and pack it away as she had promised, but she suddenly felt so weak that she couldn't get up. She just fell back, onto her bed and felt the little black book slip from her fingers. She was fast asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

_*Next day* _

Mass chaos was the only way to describe the next morning. Despite having risen at dawn, everyone rushed about the Burrow, colliding with each other on the stairs, half-dressed, carrying trunks, cages, socks, robes, breakfast, and everything else you could think of except the kitchen sink. Ginny overslept the next morning, and was jolted awake by feet thudding past her door.

She suddenly leapt out of bed and had almost tore her clothes as she pulled them on in a hurry, since she only had half an hour to get her things downstairs and eat breakfast before they set off for King's Cross. The fatigue that had plagued her for the last two weeks, hit her like a Bludger that morning she was fighting to stay awake. She felt like a rung out sponge, lost of energy.

Once she was fully clothed and packed, she gave one last look around her surprisingly clean room before she turned and closed the door behind her. It will be a whole school year until she saw it again. She couldn't help but feel a little saddened at the thought. But her excitement of finally going to Hogwarts was the dominate feeling at the moment.

She smiled as she headed down the staircase… that is until she reached the kitchen. She overheard her mother telling the twins off again. At first, she thought that it was over some stupid prank that her brothers had pulled… that is until she heard her own name.

"Now," Mum was saying sternly. "You two, I want you to behave yourselves this year. If I get one more owl from McGonagall I swear I'm gonna…"

"Ok! You don't need to threaten us!" came Fred's voice.

"We get it!" George complained.

"You better," Mum warned. "And I also want you to stop pulling pranks on Ron and Ginny. Especially to Ginny you hear me? This is her first year at school and…"

"Yeah, yeah, keep your hair on. We'll take care of little Ginnykins," George said annoyed and Ginny frowned at the name. Really, Mum… she can look after herself. She didn't need the twins to watch her like she was still a baby.

"So you don't need to _worry_ so much, Mum," Fred's voice said in what was supposed to be a soothing tone, but sounded like he was planning some big prank more than anything else.

"Oh, really?" Mum's voice came, sounding angry. "Like when you told me not to worry about Ron last year? Look what happened! He was almost killed!"

"Was it our fault that he fought some trolls and McGonagall's chess set without us around?" Fred demanded in outrage.

"It was his own fault that he went through the trapdoor!"

"Will you should've been keeping a closer eye on him!" Mum almost shouted. "I want you to keep an eye on both your little brother and sister this year, you hear me?"

"What about Percy?" George demanded, suddenly. "Why not lecture him for once?"

"Percy knows what I expect of him, and I already told him to keep a better watch on Ron, Ginny, and you two this year," she told them sternly.

"Why us?" called George fuming.

"Because you two can't go a day without getting into trouble!" Mum said furiously.

"Ok!" George yelled in surrender. "We'll do it! Just get off our backs!"

"One more thing!" Mum went on as if she didn't hear him. "I don't want to hear that you've been teasing Ginny. Your sister is coming up on a very touchy subject for a girl, and I want you two, you both in particular, to be a little nicer to her, all right?"

"Oh, Mum, it's only Ginny. She's knows we're only teasing," Fred's voice said.

"And what if she doesn't? I've noticed that most of your pranks have been known to be very cruel and thoughtless! And Ginny's feelings are going to be very sensitive for awhile, you two won't make it any easier for her if you insist on playing pranks or making fun of her. You could at least hold off teasing her in front of-well…" she trailed off, and Ginny felt her face turn bright red. Did they know?

"Oh, right. Dreamy Harry," George said in a high-pitched voice which caused Ginny to burn.

"The object of all her affections," Fred also said in that same high-pitched voice that was supposed to sound like her. Ginny buried her face in her hands in humiliation, _'So they did know… was it really that obvious?'_

She heard her mother gave a loud, exasperated sigh. "That's _exactly_ the sort of thing I'm talking about. It may seem rather silly to us, but it's very important to Ginny, and I don't want you two to make fun of her about it."

Ginny looked up in fury. Silly? It was most certainly NOT silly! They didn't know anything about her!

She thundered down the stairs into the kitchen where her mother and her brothers were sitting, and completely ignoring them all, she grabbed a piece of toast from a pile and shoved it into her mouth.

_*Later*_

Everyone had finally piled into the car, Ginny smiled to herself when she noticed that her dad had somehow expanded the interior so that the five boys were all piled in the backseat, with plenty of space left over and Ginny and her parents took up the front.

Just as they started to back out of the driveway, George had shouted that he left his fireworks behind. A few minutes later, Fred remembered that his broomstick was still in the shed. '_Of course her brothers would forget stuff_,' she thought angrily. Come on, they had to get going!

She was in a bad temper as they finally were nearing the highway… this was the third time they'd started off, since the idiot twins had _both_ forgotten something and they'd had to go back two separate times. She was glad that she had thought to pack everything so that… but before she had even finished that thought, she suddenly remembered that she did forget to pack something…

Her eyes had widened in horror… her diary!

"STOP THE CAR!"

The turquoise Ford Anglia skidded to a sudden halt at her scream.

"Oh, now what is it?" her mother cried out, finally losing patience.

"Mum, I forgot my diary!" she screeched in panic. Please, let's go back! She couldn't bare the fact that she left her new friend behind.

"Ginny dear, we're already late as it is. I promise to send it to you with Errol as soon as we get back…"

"NO!" she shrieked, causing them to jump and stare at her. Even the boys behind them were looking at her in surprise, not that she paid them any attention. "We have to go back!" Ginny didn't want to risk her mother seeing the secrets in her diary. What if they found out how it worked and Tom talked to them and repeated everything by accident? "Please daddy!" she begged her father, turning to look at him. "I'll be quick!"

Her father gave her mother a helpless sort of look and said, "Alright, we'll go and get it. Just be quick about it or we'll miss the train."

_*Ten minutes later*_

In a flurry of red hair, Ginny had scrambled out of the car and made a dash to the house. She flew up the stairs to her room. Just when she had thought that she wouldn't see it until next summer, she ran up to her room and… she sighed with relief. There it was, sitting right beside her bed where she dropped it last night. She grabbed the small, black, leather-bound book and made it back to the car in record time.

She clutched it as tightly as she could when she finally squeezed back in between her parents, and ignored Harry's curious glance. "Ok," Mum said sounding irritated. "Now we are leaving! IF anyone else forgot anything then they should get it now because we aren't making any more trips!"

No one dared to say anything seeing how angry she was and they were off again. Ginny barely paid any attention to the conversation her parents were having about flying to the station and just held the diary to her chest, wrapping her arms around it in such a way that the tiny book was not visible to wandering eyes.

She was looking forward to getting on the Hogwarts Express and finding a quiet corner of the train so she could pour everything out to Tom. When they finally arrived at King's Cross Station, they caused quite a stir. The Muggles all stared at her family—not that she blamed them. There were eight of them, all but one had red hair, and six of the eight were unloading a trunk from the back of the car and placing it upon separate trolleys.

If that was not a sight enough, Ron's rat Scabbers was squealing at a surprising rate, scuttling about, trying to escape Ron's cupped hands. This provoked an exited Hedwig and Hermes even further, alarming some of the Muggles, who had never seen owls before.

When we were finally ready, she was more nervous than she had ever been. She was going to Hogwarts and she knew that she was under a lot of pressure to get into Gryffindor. If she wasn't already uptight by the tremendous pressure of her getting into her family's house, Mum quickly glanced at the clock, a slight frown on her face and Ginny felt herself freeze. We only had five minutes to get through the barrier.

Humiliatingly, Mum took her hand, just as if she were still six years old, to march her through the familiar barrier. Ginny felt her heart leap as she looked at the stone barrier. She'd been coming here every September since she was born to see her brothers off, but now it was her turn to board the train, and couldn't Mum, just once, treat her like the almost-grown-up that she was?

"Alright then, Percy first!" Mum hollered as we lined up. Percy set off at a sort of trot and made it through the barrier with ease. One by one, the rest of her family was disappearing, until only she, Mum, Ron, and Harry were left.

"I'll take Ginny and you two come right after us," she nodded to Ron and Harry and grasped her hand even tighter. Ginny closed her eyes as her Mum literally dragged her along behind her. They slid through the brick wall and arrived on the platform. She opened her eyes to get a glimpse of the train and couldn't stop smiling.

It was so much more amazing than she could ever remember, even when she saw it for the very first time when Bill was still going. The red steam engine stood to her left and bore the name _Hogwarts Express_. All around her, kids were running to get on the train, parents were crying and hugging their children saying goodbye, first years looked just as amazed as she did as they stared up at the scarlet train, as Muggle parents were looking just as—if not even more amazed. She soon spotted her father and brothers were already quickly loading their trunks. Ginny's family was so late that after her things were loaded on, they had less than a minute left.

"Now Ginny," her mum said, taking out her handkerchief and wiping her eyes tearfully. "I want you to enjoy yourself at school, dear…" Her voice was a little shaky, but Ginny stood scowling and casting fearful glances at the engine, not paying much attention to anything else. "Don't let the boys get to you, they don't mean anything by it really, study hard, and do behave yourself, I don't want to be hearing about you getting into trouble like Fred and George and… Oh my little girl is growing up!" Mum cried as she hugged her daughter tightly.

"Mum, I have to get on the train, it's about to leave!" Ginny cried, but she hugged her mother back just as tight. She was going to miss her and dad so much.

"I know, I know. I just don't know what I'm going to do now that you're all off at school!" Mum said wiping tears away as she straightened Ginny's hair and clothes.

"Mum," Ginny said, realizing that she hadn't seen Ron or Harry on the platform."Where're Ron and Harry?"

"Oh, they must already be on the train. We must've just missed them."

The train whistle blew. It was time to leave.

"Goodbye Mum, I love you! I promise I'll send loads of owls!" Ginny yelled as the train started off.

Her mother jumped as she just realized what was happening. "All right—get on now, quickly!" she said in a crisp voice as if it was Ginny's fault that she wasn't on yet!

Ginny, clutching her diary to her stomach, leapt aboard just as the train gave a great jerk and started off. But she turned around in time to see both her parents smiling and waving goodbye. She waved merrily at them… finally… finally… she was going.

**(Hope you all enjoyed another chapter. Ginny's finally off to school. Wonder how she's going to take hearing about the flying car? Please be kind if you're going to review.)**


	7. To Hogwarts We Go!

**Chapter 6: To Hogwarts We Go!**

Ginny walked down the train, looking for an empty compartment when she came across a familiar face—Ron and Harry's friend, Hermione Granger was sitting alone reading a book right beside the window. Ginny rapped on the door and waved to her brother's friend, hoping that she would let her seat with her. Hermione looked up at her, saw who it was, and she smiled and motioned for her to come in.

"Hello Ginny," Hermione said happily as she slid the door open. "Have you seen Harry and Ron? I saved us all seats, but I haven't seen them yet."

Ginny sat down opposite of Hermione, who was reading_ Magical Me _and she saw Lockhart's big, self-satisfied grin on the cover as she fought to keep herself from rolling her eyes. Hermione was actually _reading_ that thing? But rather than say that out loud, she answered, "I haven't seen them since Mum and I came through the barrier onto the platform."

She hoped that she didn't sound too worried, "Oh, I know! Maybe they're with Fred and George… playing Exploding Snap or… practicing magic again or something?"

She didn't want to worry about them, so she decided to change the subject, "How is that Lockhart book? I haven't even started on mine yet."

Hermione beamed at her question and said excitedly, and very quickly, "Oh, it's wonderful! I can't believe all the things he accomplished in just a few years! He truly is a extraordinary wizard! I'm surprised that he hasn't gotten his own chocolate frog card yet! But then again, he's done so much it would be hard to fit all that information on just one card…"

And she went on like that for a few minutes until she finally stopped to take a breath. Perhaps it was then that she realized what she was saying because she blushed red and put the book down as if hoping that she could take back what she said. Instead she asked, "So… tell me Ginny… what House do you think you'll get into? Gryffindor?"

"I'm hoping for it," Ginny piped up, giving her a weak smile. "I really don't know anyone but my brothers, except for you and Harry of course."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll be fine," she said kindly. "The Sorting isn't bad at all…"

Ginny and Hermione talked for a long time and Hermione helped to put some of Ginny's fears about Hogwarts to rest. She explained that Hagrid will be taking all the first-years up to the castle in boats before they get sorted into the Houses, which she promised was simple and painless. Ginny was making a mental note to kill Fred and George later for making her worry so much.

_"How on earth did Ron get such nice friends?" _she thought to herself just when Percy suddenly poked his head through the door.

"Hello there," he said to Hermione, before turning to his sister. "Ginny, have you seen Ron and Harry?"

Ginny shook her head as Hermione, looking worried, placed her book on the seat next to her before standing up. "I'll help you look for them." She looked back at Ginny and said, "I'll be back in a second, ok Ginny?"

Ginny nodded as they shut the compartment door behind them. '_They're probably somewhere else on the train_,' she told herself fiercely. _'I know that they're fine._ _I'll see them when I get to Hogwarts_.' Suddenly feeling lonely, she pulled out her diary. She looked at it happily for a few seconds as she reached for the bottle of ink in her trunk; she then heard the door open again. She looked up, expecting to see Hermione…

"Ah! Look here, Georgie! It's our one and only baby sister!" Fred cried out with a huge grin and putting an arm around George's shoulders. George sniffed and pretended to wipe a fake tear away, "Our baby sister is off to school at last!"

Ok, any reasonable girl who has annoying older brothers would've been sorely tempted to throw something hard and heavy at their heads. But the only thing Ginny had in her hands was her diary, and there was no chance in hell she would ever throw something that precious. Instead, she just gave them both the dirtiest look she could muster before she went back looking for her ink and quill.

George came up behind her and playfully pulled her hair, "Oi, Ginny? Little Ginnikins?"

"What?" she snapped at him, wishing that they would go away.

"Relax," Fred said with another grin. "We just wanted to ask if you saw Ron and Harry get on the train because no one can find them anywhere."

"Yeah," George said thinking it over, "I know we went through the barrier before them… did they go before you?"

"No," she snapped angrily before she stopped dead. "No," she repeated in a much softer tone. "No… they were last. Me and Mum went before them, and they were supposed to come after us."

"You mean to tell me that Harry and ickle-Ronniekins got lost?" Fred laughed incredulously. "All they had to do was walk through a wall! It's not that complicated!"

"I don't think they even made it onto the train!" Ginny raised her voice to be heard over her brother's harsh laughter.

"What d'you mean, they didn't get on the train?" Fred asked still laughing at the thought of his younger brother's stupidity.

"Hermione and nobody else have seen them! And now that I think of it, I don't remember seeing them on the platform, or even saying goodbye to Mum and Dad," Ginny told them, suddenly remembering with panic.

"Hmmm," Fred said thinking that over, "Well, I'm sure Mum and Dad will get them to Hogwarts another way. But there's no chance that they would miss the train like that. I'm sure that they're somewhere nearby. I wouldn't worry about it Gin-Gin," George said.

"Yeah, I'm sure that your future husband's fine, Ginnikins!" George added gleefully as he patted her on the head like a dog. Ginny was sure that her face was now hot enough to boil water on. Oh, what wouldn't she give to know a few good curses to shut those two gits up!

"SHUT UP!" she yelled at them.

Fred snorted as her face turned even redder. "They're probably off in some corner of the train with Hermione… oooohhhh, I wonder what they're up to?"

"I just saw Hermione," Ginny said coldly pointed to Hermione's textbook still sitting on the seat. "She was just here and she got up to look for them! And there's no way that she's Ron's _or _Harry's girlfriend."

At least hoped she wasn't. She would be happy if Hermione was Ron's girlfriend or somebody else's, but not Harry… oh, did that make her a bad person because she didn't want someone else dating Harry? Hermione seemed to be really nice and everything, but she didn't seem like Harry's type… Or was she just trying to convince herself of that?

"Shows how much you know, Ginny," George laughed as they both turned and left the compartment, cackling like hyenas. Ginny, her face as red as a tomato, finally found some ink and a quill and opened to a random page of the diary. She really needed someone to talk to right now.

_Tom?_ She wrote. And sure enough he wrote back, sounding excited.

**Hello, Ginny. Where are we now? Are we back at Hogwarts yet?**

_No, not yet. _She told him. _But, I'm on the Hogwarts Express right now, and my brothers are being the WORLD'S BIGGEST GITS! Oh, I give anything to know a few good curses to use on them! Or at the very least turn them into slugs!_

**Oh, Ginny, what did they do to you this time? It sounds like they did something truly horrible.**

_It started this morning! I overheard Mum telling the twins to take care of me while we're at school! She's still treating me like I'm three years old and need someone there to hold my hand! Why can't she see that I'm not a baby anymore? And to make things worse she had to go and tell them not to tease me about… about Harry. How could she do that? She knows what Fred and George are like! I don't understand why she would tell them not to do the one thing that they're sure to do!_

**I can't understand it either. You think that she would know her own sons by now. **

_And just now they made fun of me again, Tom! Sometimes I hate them so much! Oh and Tom! I can't find Harry or Ron anywhere! __I'm pretty sure that they missed that they missed the train! You see, we were running really late this morning and I think that something must've happened to them. I sure hope they're ok!_

**Oh, I'm sure they are, Ginny. You shouldn't worry so much. Even if they missed the train, I'm sure that they'll send someone from the school over to get them.**

Ginny smiled and let out a sigh of relief. Oh, she was so glad that she had Tom here to chase her fears away.

_Thank you, Tom. I feel so much better with you here telling me that I'm going to be ok. By the way, I was sitting here talking to Hermione, I told you about her didn't I? Ron and Harry's friend? Anyway she didn't know where they were either! Percy came in and they both left to see if they could find them. And that's when the twins came in asking me the same question! It's like they think I just automatically know! That was when George called Harry my future husband! Oh, I hope he doesn't go and blurt that out to the rest of the school! __And speaking of that… they also said that Hermione was Harry's girlfriend! I don't know if they were telling me the truth for once, or just trying to make me upset! If they were, they sure did a good job! Oh, Tom, d'you think that's true? D'you really think that they're going out?_

**Well, I can't really say since I don't know either of them. Tell me, is this Hermione pretty?**

Ginny thought about that. Yes, that had been her first thought when she first met her. Hermione had a lovely face and pretty brown eyes… but now that she thought it over, she thought that Hermione's hair looked like a dying bush! And her teeth… they looked like they belonged to a chipmunk for crying out loud! _No,_ she scribbled viciously, but then she felt almost immediately bad at her mean thoughts and added, _Well… I guess she is kinda nice-looking… but I really don't know her all that well just yet._

**Well, you shouldn't jump to conclusions until you hear it from Harry's mouth. I mean, if they are dating, I'm sure that you're going to hear him say it right? But to tell you the truth, I think they're just friends. So, I shouldn't think you have anything to worry about.**

But Ginny was already writing: _But he likes her! I don't know how much yet, but I know that he likes her! And I know that they're really good friends to! I mean, I don't know if he actually LIKES her, but I'm still worried. I can see why Harry would go for someone like her! She's smart, the best in their year even! And she…_

**Ginny,**Tom interrupted her. **I do feel awful for you. But just know that you are not alone anymore! Neither of us are. You are with me now. Now, I never had any siblings of my own, but your brothers, it sounds like they're only joking. What they're saying may seem hurtful, but they don't intend it to be. However, I do agree that they are being very insensitive to you and your feelings! I do hope things improve for you once you get to school. ****But I feel that I should tell you that things have a tendency to change within Hogwarts—both good and bad. I'm sure that you will experience many changes very soon Ginny. But try not pay too much attention to them.**

_I will, Tom. Thanks for listening, to me. Oh, I have to stop writing now, Hermione just came back. But I'll write to you later, I promise!_

**You're welcome, Ginny. And I'll be waiting eagerly to hear what House you get sorted into.**

*Later*

"No, Percy! I keep telling you that we haven't seen them! We're as worried as you are!" Ginny said as Hermione nodded in agreement.

"What's going on here?" Percy yelled in frustration as he looked down at his Prefect badge. "Nobody's seen them! If they get me into trouble for this…!"

He just ran his hand through his hair tiredly and said, "Well, I'm going to look around one more time. If I still can't find them, I'll have to send an owl to the school. I'll let you know if I find them." He then turned and left quickly. Ginny nodded timidly as her brother left the compartment and she looked at Hermione who was looking both angry and anxious.

"You…" Ginny began quietly, "You don't think something happened to them do you?"

Hermione hesitated for a second. "I know that they can take care of themselves," she finally said. "But I really do hope that nothing bad has happened to them. I'm hoping that they just missed the train and that someone will go and get them later."

They didn't have much more time to dwell on it because they all had to change into their robes once they were nearly at Hogsmeade station at last. Ginny felt her stomach lurch as she finally got off the train behind Hermione and entered a giant crowd of people. But before she could do anything else, she heard a familiar voice call out, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"

"See you after the sorting Ginny!" Hermione yelled after her encouragingly and gave her a gentle push in the back towards the sound of the voice calling above all the others.

As soon as Ginny lost sight of Hermione, she looked to see where the first year students were being led to. She then noticed Percy talking to the shaggy mess of hair that belonged to the giant that she met in Diagon Alley. Hagrid… the very man that had broken up the fight between her father and Mr. Malfoy was holding a lantern and looking down at the crowd of students who were all staring up at him with open mouths.

Percy nodded to her and began to head back up to where the rest of the sixth years were but before he was gone Ginny cried out to him in an anxious voice, "Did you find them?"

"I'm afraid not," he called back and soon disappeared in the sea of students.

Ginny's heart sank at the news just as she saw a flash of light. She jumped, and looked behind her, expecting to see someone casting a spell. But no… it was a young, mousy-looking boy with what appeared to have been a Muggle camera and had a look of pure awe on his face as he looked around him, spinning in complete circles.

'_He must be Muggle-born,' _she immediately thought. Hagrid then called out, "Alrigh'! We should ge' moving! You all will be coming with' me!"

Hagrid led them all to the edge of a enormous lake with hundreds of boats, all waiting for them.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid boomed as he climbed into his own. They all did what he said and Ginny got into a boat with two others kids. She was sitting next to a girl with long, blond hair and a dreamy expression, and the boy with the Muggle camera who was looking like he was having the time of his life.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid. "Right then — FORWARD!"

And off they sailed.

*A few minutes later*

Ginny's hand dipped into the water, watching the slick, silver fish swimming alongside them. As they glided over a patch of seaweed, she could have sworn that she saw a pair of eyes staring back at her under the water. But when she blinked, she only saw a figure of a tail darting between the flowing grasses.

"Heads down!" Hagrid's called out when they were nearing a wall of ivy. And they all ducked. When they all looked up, they were all speechless when they finally saw the castle for the first time.

The castle had come into view and the boy with the camera was clicking away madly. Ginny felt her own jaw drop as she got her first sight of Hogwarts… and it was more beautiful than she ever dreamt of before. The castle grew larger and larger as the boats drew nearer to it, and pretty soon, Ginny had to crane her neck to be able to see the tips of the towers.

It was so majestic. She didn't think that she blinked once, afraid that to miss anything that might change. It was large and seemed to glow with it's old bricks casting a reflection from the bright moon overhead onto the waters below. The dark outline of Hogwarts was dotted with hundreds of tiny windows, each glowing with bright light.

When they finally arrived at the foot of the castle, she and everyone else was shaking with anxiety as they huddled together, as if they were cold. Their heads turned every which way as Hagrid led them up the great stone steps to a large door. And they all shook with fear as he knocked three times on the door.

"I brough' the firs' years fer ye Professor McGonagall," he spoke when the door opened. Ginny looked over the head of a blond boy to get a better look at the woman. Standing there was an elderly lady with flowing emerald robes and sharp eyes shining from behind a pair rectangular glasses. Her nose was large and angular and she had a pointed chin that was turned up with dignity. It was clear that she was in a position of authority.

"Yes, thank you Hagrid." she nodded politely.

So this was Professor McGonagall, Ginny had heard lots about her from the rest of her family. She was the head of Gryffindor and also the Transfiguration teacher. She didn't have much time to think about it though because Professor McGonagall lead them all inside to a small chamber and started speaking to them.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said to them all. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school."

She looked at them all for a moment before she clapped her hands together and cried out, "Now, come along all of you!"

**(Hey there! Sorry for the long wait. But I do hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. For anyone about to complain for what Ginny said about Hermione… just remember that she's still only eleven with a big-time crush. She has a crush on a cute boy and is jealous that Hermione's with Harry. So please, be kind. And I'm already starting on the next chapter, so it should go up very soon as well.)**


	8. More like Him than You Thought

**Chapter 7: More like Him than You Thought**

Ginny's stomach felt like a giant web of knots as she and all the other first-years formed a line. She got being the girl with the dreamy expression, and the boy who was taking pictures of everything was right behind her. She watched as McGonagall told them all to follow her and opened a pair of grand double-doors that led to the Great Hall and went inside.

The Great Hall wasn't huge… more like enormous! Even though every one of her brothers told her that, they didn't do it justice. They didn't mention the four long tables lined up across the room, the thousands of floating candles glowing above them, or the ghosts that were shining and watching them all as they glided along the tables. At the very front of the room was another one of these tables, facing the other four—and sitting there were the teachers in their best robes.

In the very centre of that table was the famous, Headmaster himself, Albus Dumbledore. He looked just like his chocolate frog card! He had a long silver beard that shimmered faintly by the light all the candles suspended from the ceiling. His bright blue eyes were twinkling with happiness as he watched us all come near the teachers—he even gave them all a kind smile.

All around her, Ginny could hear gasps of amazement coming from the other first years as they all looked up at the ceiling which looked like the sky outside! The shade of the darkest blue and grey clouds were swirling, scattered with stars… she couldn't have hoped for more! She never expected the castle to look this… beautiful.

When she looked back down, she saw that the rest of the school were there staring at them like they were part of a sideshow. It was then that she saw Professor McGonagall walking briskly to the front of the room, carrying a stool an old and very dirty hat. It didn't look very special, but she placed it upon the three-legged seat with reverence and stood back with a long roll of parchment. Before Ginny could understand what was going on, the hat suddenly opened a flap of fabric for a mouth and began to sing:

_Welcome, first-years, to Hogwarts!_

_You're here to learn from the best,_

_But before you all can start learning,_

_You first must pass this test:_

_Place me on top your head,_

_And then we will all see,_

_The answer to the question,_

_Where will they put me?_

_Do not be afraid of me,_

_You will learn soon enough,_

_How to use your magic here,_

_Though, I confess, it will be tough._

_So consider all the possibilities,_

_Of which House you will go in,_

_But first I will tell you about them,_

_So let me begin._

_Hogwarts has four Houses in all,_

_You will each be put in just one,_

_After I have sorted you,_

_Your years here will have begun._

_Maybe you'll be in valiant Gryffindor,_

_And chivalry are your ways,_

_Daring, bold and the bravest of hearts_

_To that table you will go always._

_But clever Ravenclaw's a bit different,_

_There is never enough to learn you know,_

_If that is who you are,_

_Then to Ravenclaw is where you'll go._

_Or maybe Hufflepuff might be for you,_

_Where it's the loyal and hard-working way,_

_Then you'll go into that steadfast House,_

_And that is where I'll say you stay._

_Or lastly, cunning Slytherin may suit you,_

_If you have lots of ambition,_

_Then I will put you there,_

_And that will be my admission._

_So come sit down on this stool,_

_And then place me on your head,_

_I'll put you where you belong,_

_There is no need for dread._

_Are you a Lion, Eagle, Badger, or Serpent?_

_Whichever is your kind,_

_Step right up, and we'll find out!_

_For I am sure to find it in your mind._

_So I can see inside your head,_

_But please, don't worry about me,_

_The only thing I am there to find,_

_Is in which House you'll be!_

And just like that, the hat stopped singing and became still.

The entire Hall broke into applause and cheered before they all fell silent when Professor McGonagall held up the scroll and began reciting names. But as she opened her mouth, the double doors that connected the Great Hall to the rest of the school suddenly flew open. There stood a tall man with long, greasy looking hair, sallow skin, and a hooked nose who looked around at them all before he came striving up the hall. Judging from the looks of surprise on everyone's faces, she was going to guess that this wasn't part of the sorting.

Many of the students, excluding her, the rest of first years and the Slytherin table, where giving the man a lot of dirty looks and… hatred? She even saw out of the corner of her eye, Fred and George were making rude hand gestures at his turned back.

She watched the man march right up to the teacher's table and spoke with him in a hushed tone. Creases of concern formed on the Headmasters forehead as the man continued to talk to him. Eventually, they called Professor McGonagall over and spoke with her for a moment.

Ginny looked around, not having the slightest clue what was happening until the man and McGonagall both hurried out of the hall. Professor Dumbledore stood up in front of the table and addressed the rest of the room as even the teachers were looking confused to what was happening.

"I am afraid that I must leave you all temporarily. Until I return, for the time being I would like to ask Professor Flitwick," he gestured to a tiny looking wizard who could only be Professor Flitwick, "Would you please resume the Sorting until we return?" he smiled at them all and waited for a nod before he also walked out after the other two.

Looking bemused, Professor Flitwick, came running up and picked up the scroll that Professor McGonagall had left behind and continued to call names. One by one her fellow first years were called up and sorted. The boy with the camera, Colin Creevey, went running up eagerly when his name was called and almost as soon as the hat touched his head, it shouted out:

_GRYFFINDOR!_

'_Good for him,'_ Ginny thought as he whooped with excitement and went running off to join her brothers at the cheering table. The sorting went on for a long time and more names were called. Pretty soon, the girl that was sitting with her in the boat, Luna Lovegood's name was called and she almost floated up to the stool, with a dazed-off look in her face. She sat down and waited underneath the hat for about 10 seconds before it called out:

_RAVENCLAW!_

Luna took off the hat and went off to the now applauding Ravenclaw table, looking both dreamy and happy. After her, more names were called and pretty soon only she and two other girls were left standing up there waiting for their names to be called… and finally…

"Weasley, Ginny!"

Ginny felt herself sway slightly, so she carefully clutched her robes so that she wouldn't trip over them and taking a deep, steadying breath, walked up to the stool. She picked up the old fabric, sat down and placed it on her head to wait. Though it was a little worrying to know that your fate decided on a hat.

"_My, but you're a nervous wreck, aren't you, girl?_" said a sly voice speaking in her ear which caused her to jump in surprise.

The hat chuckled at her nervousness. _"So we have yet_ _a__nother Weasley, eh? Seems like only yesterday that I was busy sorting your brothers. But you're the first female that sat here in, my word, several generations isn't it? You certainly stand out in your home full of brothers don't you? But can you do the same in their House? Can you show everyone who you are? You aren't just a Weasley, girl. You are, and you can become, so much more than that if you try hard enough. And you know it, don't you? You know that, despite all that pride of being a Weasley, you want to stand out in the crowd. You want that __**boy**__ to notice you more than anything. You want your brothers, your parents, everyone, to see __**you**__ and not just that red hair that's attached to your head, don't you girl?_"

'_Yes.'_ It's was a desperate, fleeting thought full of all the desires that she wanted, but she knew the hat spoke the truth. She knew that this worn pile of fabric was seeing into, not only her head, but her heart.

The hat chuckles again. "_That still leaves the problem of where to put you? You don't seem much like a Hufflepuff despite all the loyalty you have._"

Ginny shifted on her seat in nervousness.

"_Ravenclaw doesn't seem to sort you, either, my dear. There's wit and cleverness yes, but you often let that heart of yours lead you instead of your mind. Nope, Ravenclaw isn't for you. Hmmm…lots of courage, yes. Although, it's not at its full potential just yet. I see a streak of mischief in you, much like your older brothers. But then Slytherin would certainly be a change for the Weasleys…_"

Ginny felt her heart stop and her insides froze at the thought of what her family would say if she ended up in Slytherin.

'_Not Slytherin', _she thought with all her might. '_No, no, no, no! Anywhere but Slytherin.'_

He chortles one more. "_You and that boy of yours have much in common, girl. You're more like him than you thought._"

But before she could ask what it meant the hat roared out, "_GRYFFINDOR!_"

She nearly collapsed with relief. Plopping the hat back on the stool, Ginny wobbled over to the loudly clapping Gryffindor table, where her lot of brothers, all stood up and each hugged her. Percy made her sit next to him and she saw Hermione smile and wave at her. Fred and George each gave her a thumbs-up sign and winked before they looked up to see the second-to-last girl getting sorted into Hufflepuff. She smiled weakly at them all… why couldn't they be this nice all the time?

Once the last girl was sorted, Dumbledore and the other two teachers, she guess the man with greasy hair was a teacher, all came back into the hall—the hooked-nose man looking very grumpy about something.

Just as he sat down, Dumbledore stood behind his table and made his speech:

"Another year is upon us. Another year that is cause of celebration! There are times when words must be spoken, however now is not one of those times. Now tuck in!"

As soon as he spoke those last three words, the bare golden plates on the tables were magically filled with food. Turkey, chicken, steak, mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables, meat pies, and many other delicious things.

She quickly piled her plate with a bit of everything, but for some reason, she couldn't eat as much as she would've normally as thought back to what the hat had said. "_You and that boy of yours have much in common, girl. You're more like him than you thought._" What did it mean? She was certain that the hat had been talking about Harry… but what was it talking about that she had more in common with him than she thought?

"You alright, there Ginny?" Percy asked, interrupting her thoughts. She nodded faintly, so tired she just wanted to just lay her head in her food and go sleep.

She answered "Just tired I guess. Maybe that train ride took more out of me than I thought." She looked up and around her to notice that two people were missing from their table. "Have Ron and Harry not shown up, yet?" she asked Percy, turning back to look at him.

He shook his head, but he didn't seem concerned as before, "No, but I think they're alright. I'm sure the teachers are taking care of it."

The feast went on for about an hour, until the deserts appeared. Though she was exhausted and could barely chew, Ginny couldn't help but reach for some tarts and pie like everyone else. Once everyone had finished, Dumbledore stood up again and made a small speech, welcoming them all and going into some warnings—such as magic wasn't to be used in the corridors, and students weren't allowed in the Forbidden Forest… on and on.

Once he had finally finished speaking, he beamed at them all and sent them off to bed. This was music to Ginny's ears.

She got up and followed Percy with the other first-years up to the tower on the seventh floor, her mind barely registering the twists and turns made on the journey. Though she felt panicky for a split-second, remembering what Fred and George telling her about how the first-years had to sleep in a cold tower… but instead, they were lead to a portrait of a fat lady in a pink gown hung on the wall directly in front of them.

"Password?" she said in a haughty voice.

"Wattlebird," Percy replied, beaming.

Once inside the warm circular room, she noticed the rest of the Gryffindors who were suddenly chattering on about the latest edition of the _Daily Prophet_ that someone had pulled out.

"You mean they really did it?"

"Unbelievable!"

"They say that they've been expelled though!"

"Because they crashed it into the Whomping Willow!"

"A _flying_ car? Where did they get a flying car?"

Ginny spun around at the words 'flying car', just as Percy did to see the twins along with everyone else pouring over the paper. Percy strove over to take a better look.

"Why couldn't they take us, eh?" Fred or George's voice called out among the noise. Percy snatched the paper away from them, looked over the headlines and crumpled it up into a ball.

"I'll kill them! Just wait until Mum and Dad hear about this!"

That was when she heard the whole story of the flying car.

*Later*

_Tom, oh, Tom!_

**What? What is it, Ginny? Is there something wrong?**

_I'm in Gryffindor, I was sorted into GRYFFINDOR! The hat very nearly put me in Slytherin, but I asked so hard to be in Gryffindor, and I AM! My brothers were all so proud! You should've seen them! Oh, I wish I could see the look on Mum and Dad's face when they find out! _

**Good for you, Ginny. I'm very happy for you. Is Hogwarts everything you imagined it to be?**

_Yes! Oh, Tom, I can't tell you how happy I am. I saw my first look at Hogwarts from the boats and I have to tell you that I've never seen such a beautiful thing in all my life! I'm never going to forget it! We came into the Great Hall, that was where we met Professor McGonagall, she's the head of Gryffindor House and… and it was a wonderful first night-everyone was so boisterous and happy… oh, by the way, you're never going to guess what happened!_

**What is it Ginny?**

_Remember when I told you how worried I was about Harry and Ron not being on the train with us? Turns out that they didn't take the train! They said that for some reason, the barrier wouldn't open for them, and when they missed the Hogwarts Express they went out into the street and stole Dad's flying car and flew it to school! They're in the evening paper, because a bunch of Muggles saw them and they got into trouble. I think it was brilliant though! So does everyone else!_

_Of course, everyone was talking all about it when we got up to the common room. We had a celebration when Ron and Harry finally arrived, but they both went up to their dorms right away. I think to get away from Percy. I overheard him saying that he was going to tell them off when he next saw them so I don't blame them one bit. I'm glad that they pulled it off, I'm also relieved that I'm they didn't get expelled. _

**Well, I am glad for all of you that things worked out the way they did. But did you say that the barrier stopped working for them?**

_Yeah, the barrier between Platform 9 and 10 was somehow blocked so they couldn't get and decided to fly the car to Hogwarts! But the worst part of it is that they crashed it into the Whomping Willow—that's a tree that literally hits you if you get to close to it—and then the Willow attacked them. Not that I blame it, if I was hit by a flying car, I would start hitting back too. They got out ok, but Ron's wand got snapped. They were also caught on the way up here and they both got detention! Can you believe this?_

**Wow! That's unbelievable first night here! So, they weren't hurt at all? And all they got was detention?**

_No, they weren't hurt too badly. Ron's got a few cuts, but it's nothing serious. And since term hadn't officially started when they took the car, they didn't lose any points for Gryffindor. All they got is a detention; I wonder how bad it's going to be. I wish I could've gone with them. I've always wanted to fly that car and I would have loved to see the Whomping Willow…__ though I don't think I would've wanted to crash into it of course!_

**I bet you would have. But it sounds like they got off pretty easy though.**

_Well, once Mum finds out, I know that they're going to regret it. Especially since they don't know what happened to the car! They said that it drove off on its own! How can it do that? Mum's going to be furious when she finds out, I feel bad for them when she gets her hands on them._

**I'm sure things will work out for the best in the end. At least everyone made it out in one piece.**

_I hope you're right, Tom. And I'm glad that the boys are alright. Ron should be grateful to have friends like Harry and Hermione. Ron is so lucky._

**Do not worry Ginny. I know that you find friends here. You are sure to meet them in class soon enough. I'm sure that you'll find one as early as tomorrow.**

_Oh, I hope so! I can't wait!_

**But you'll still have time for me won't you?**

_Tom! I can't believe you would even as me that! Of course I will! You're my first friend here! No one's ever understood me like you, Tom… I'm so glad I've got this diary to confide in… It's like having a friend I can carry around in my pocket…"_

Ginny paused a moment. She suddenly felt exhausted and didn't think she could write anymore tonight. Her vision started to blur and she scribbled:

_Well, it's been quite a long day Tom. I think I should turn in early. Goodnight Tom._

**Thank you for the kind words, Ginny. I bid you good evening as well and I can't wait to hear all about your first day.**

Ginny closed the book and stuffed it underneath her pillow. She rolled onto her back and stared up that roof of her bed with a big grin. She was here at last. Sleeping in a warm bed at Hogwarts… she shut her eyes, still grinning, expecting to dream all about her first day and everything she was going to learn… but instead she dreamt of a dark and cold chamber with distant hissing in her ears.

**(Sorry for taking so long, took me forever to think of the sorting hat song and I've been stuck doing midterms. College is a drag. The next chapter, Ginny has her first day of classes! Hope this chapter tides you over till then.)**


	9. Rooster Feathers

**Chapter 8: Rooster Feathers**

Ginny woke up the next morning, she expected to be in her bed with her favorite patchwork quilt covering her. Instead she woke up in a warm four-poster bed with crimson hangings. She blinked, and it took her a minute to remember where she was.

Then a huge smile came to her face. She was at Hogwarts! And today was her first day of class! What on earth was she still doing in bed? She sat bolt-up right and crawled over to the front of her bed to her trunk where her robes were. She barely paid any attention to any of the other girls who were getting up as well; focused only on getting downstairs to class. She couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she found her robes and pulled them on.

Not even the sight of her second-hand robes made her smile fade as she gathered all her books, parchment, wand, ink and quills and stuffed them into her bag. She was just about to head down to the common room when she spotted the corner of her diary sticking out from under her pillow. Smiling, Ginny reached over and pocketed it. She knew that she wouldn't be able to write to Tom until after class, but just the idea of caring it around was comforting. Like carrying around a friend who lived in your pocket!

She headed down through the common room, through the portrait hole, and down the stairs to the Great Hall. At least until she got lost.

*Half an Hour later*

It was a good thing that she got up so early. It took her forever to finally find her way down to the ground floor and walked into the Great Hall for breakfast. She went skipping to the Gryffindor table and took the seat she had last night before looking around at all the food on the table. She smiled at the glorious array of breakfast and her mouth began to water. There were every kind of prepared eggs that you could think of, perfectly cooked toast, crispy bacon, thick porridge, at least a dozen different flavored jams every few feet, warm and fluffy pancakes, waffles, French toast and every fruit under the sun.

Suddenly feeling hungrier than she had been in weeks, she loaded her plate until it was overflowing and ate to her heart's content. Oh, she groaned it tasted so good. When she finished her first helping and reached out for more bacon—Harry, Ron and Hermione had walked in, Hermione clearly looking upset with her two friends.

Ginny smiled, having a good idea to what she was upset about. It's not everyday that your best friends fly a car to school… and crash it into a Whomping Willow. She watched as Ron sulkily sat down, ignoring what appeared to be a lecture from Hermione. After a while, she gave up trying to tell them off and just went back to reading her book as Harry seemed to be unusually interested in his toast. They were all too preoccupied to notice her, so she looked away and kept on eating, excited for her classes for the day!

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a round-faced, second-year boy come up and sit down with the trio just as the post arrived. Ginny looked up and gasped with pleasure to see the hundreds of owls swooping in carrying mail and search for their owners.

She watched them all happily for a few minutes until she noticed a very old, grey owl carrying a large, red envelop. She squinted up at it, but she recognized that tired looking bird anywhere. It was Errol carrying a Howler. Oh, no. She looked over at her brother who hadn't noticed it yet and didn't look up until Errol fell out of the air bounced off the other boy's head and land in Hermione's jug—spraying milk and feathers everywhere.

She watched as Ron, looking embarrassed, pulled the bird out of the goblet and stared in horror at the Howler. Not that she blamed him—if she got one of those, she be running out of the Hall as fast as she could. She watched as Hermione said something to him as she gently stroked Errol's wet feathers and Ron pointed to the slightly smoking Howler.

She saw the other boy whisper something to Ron, his expression clearly telling her that he knew what it was and most likely urging him to get it over with. Harry and Hermione both looked at them confused as the boy covered his ears and Ron bravely opened the Howler.

Knowing what was coming, she copied the boy's example and covered her own ears as her mother's furious voice started screaming—a hundred times louder than normal.

"—**STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET A HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT GONE**—**LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU AND HARRY COULD BOTH HAVE DIED**—**ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED — YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME!" **

And just like that, her mother's voice had stopped… though Ginny's ears were still ringing. She opened her eyes to see the stunned look on her brother's face with his two friends looking at him, Harry with guilt, Hermione in a self-righteous way.

They all got up and left not long after that as everyone else started pointing at them and laughing. Ginny pushed her own food away from her, not knowing why she was suddenly feeling sick to her stomach. She sat there, barely noticing the people around her, and was just wondering if she could risk writing to Tom when she heard a familiar voice:

"Ah, Miss Weasley," Ginny jumped and turned around to see Professor McGonagall standing there looking over several sheets of parchment on a clipboard. "I have your timetable here," she said simply as she handed her a piece of paper with classes written all over it. "Be sure that you aren't late for your first class."

Ginny nodded and her eyes quickly began studying it. As Ginny went over the timetable, she saw that the first thing she had today was Charms. Grinning, from ear to ear, she got up and headed off to find the Charms room. After all, she didn't want to be wandering around the castle for an hour trying to find it and be late on her first day.

*Charms*

Just as the bell had rung, Ginny had skidded into the Charms class, barely making it after she got lost at least four times, running from Peeves as he started throwing wastepaper baskets at her, and walked right into a wall that was pretending to be a door. Gasping for breath, she took a seat right up front and looked around eagerly—not able to believe that she was finally here.

Just at that moment, the boy she saw last night who had the Muggle camera came over to sit with her. And she was surprised to see that he still had it with him and was taking photos of some of the irritated looking Ravenclaws. He had sandy colored hair that fell into his blue eyes, which were staring around him in amazement like he couldn't believe that he was here either. She smiled and said politely, "Hi."

He looked at her happily and said in an eager voice so quickly that she almost couldn't understand him, "Hi. I'm Colin Creevey. Nice to meet you. And you are…?"

Blinking in surprise at how quickly he said all that she said as he joined her table, "Ginny. My name is Ginny Weasley."

"Hullo, it's nice to meet you Ginny! So you're a witch huh? Oh, that's great! I'm a wizard! Can you believe that? I couldn't when I got my letter. I thought that it was all just some kind of joke! But here I am! And I can't tell you how glad I am to be here! Mind if a take a picture of you? Great."

Before she could say anything, he raised up the camera in front of him and there was a flash. Ginny blinked, going blind for a second and rubbing the spots out of her eyes. She heard Colin go on to say, "Thanks, Ginny. Wow, I can't believe I'm here. I'm so glad I was put in Gryffindor, aren't you? I never even knew that Hogwarts existed, did you? My parents are Muggles, see, so it was a shock when I got the letter. That's why I'm taking all these pictures! I promised to send some to my little brother, Dennis. I was told that if I develop them just right, then they'll move! He's going to be so excited when he gets them! He'll be starting in two years! At least I hope he will…"

Thankfully, Professor Flitwick entered and Colin stopped talking and turned to him, eagerness in his eyes.

Ginny sighed in relief. Colin seems nice and everything… it was just that he didn't know how to stop talking.

*Herbology*

After Charms, Ginny had Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. Good thing that finding the greenhouses wasn't that difficult. All you had to do was go out the front doors and you can see them out on the grounds… the only problem was finding the front doors.

But she was able to find them eventfully and arrived at Greenhouse 1. As she and all the other first-year Gryffindors arrived, she saw a short, cheerful-looking witch standing outside of the door waiting for them. So this must be Professor Sprout, the Herbology professor.

"Right then," she said happily, clapping her hands together eager, "I do suppose that this is everyone. Well, then off we go, follow me, and don't lag behind."

They all followed her into the warm and cozy greenhouse in single file before they all sat down at all the potting tables and Professor Sprout smiling at them all.

"Now I'll go over this before you all get your hopes up. We are here to learn the art of dealing with magical plants… so we will not be using much wandwork here. While you are only first years, I'm afraid that we are limited to mainly lectures until we cover the basics and get to the fun stuff. However, we will be covering a rather exciting topic today. Now, has anyone here ever heard of the Devil's Snare and what it is capable of?"

Boy, what luck! When Ron had come home last year he talked about fighting some Devil's Snare and going on about how it tried to strangle him! Ginny tentatively put up her hand.

Professor Sprout looked at her list of names before asking, "Weasley?"

Ginny nodded and Professor Sprout said, "Alright then, Miss Weasley…"

"The Devil's Snare. That's a large plant that will coil it's vines around you. The more you struggle the tighter it binds and the faster it'll kill you." She thought hard on what Ron had bragged about over the summer and said, "And ah… it likes the dark and the damp. So all you have to do to escape it is light a fire?" The other students looked at her with surprise and she knew from the beaming expression on Professor Sprout's face that she was correct.

"Aha! Yes, well done indeed Miss Weasley. Yes, I remember your brother had a tough time with it last year. Good then. Ten points to Gryffindor. Yes, Devil's Snare will indeed bind you and strangle the very life out of you should you be unfortunate enough to encounter it. But here's a good way to remember how to fight it off. _Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare. It's deadly fun, but will sulk in the sun!_"

She went on with her lecture about Devil's Snare and its properties and the places one may encounter it. They spent the rest of the lesson getting to know the fertilizers, pots, and tools that they will be learning to use for the rest of the year before they all headed up to the castle for lunch.

The rest of the week—went by quickly.

Potion's class was easily the most hated, (Her brothers were right about Snape. He was a first-class git!) Transfiguration quickly became the most difficult class, just as History of Magic was hands-down the most boring.

And she never failed to tell Tom about her day.

**I'm excited to hear about what you've done today, Ginny.**

_Oh, it was amazing today! _She wrote back eagerly._ Though I do wish that Potions had gone better. I have it with the Slytherins, and I have never met a group of more stupid people, Tom. They're so rude and think that they're better than everyone else. That House must have changed since you were here._ _None of them are as kind as you are Tom. Oh, I hope I didn't offend you or anything…_

**Of course not, Ginny. After all, it has been fifty years since I was a student here. I bet a lot has changed. Now, who teaches Potions? When I was here, it was a man called Horace Slughorn. In fact, he helped give me some advice on how to make this diary.**

_Did he? _Ginny wrote in surprise._ Oh, I wish I could've met him. No, I'm sorry to tell you that he isn't here anymore. The Potions master now is call Professor Snape… but to tell you the truth, I don't like him. When he got to my name during roll today in Potions, he said, "I hope you don't act like the rest of your thick-headed brothers." So even when they aren't around, they make things hard for me! From what I've heard, no one but the Slytherins like that class, Snape favors them._

**Well, he sure isn't making himself popular with the rest of the school is he?**

_No, he's not. Putting that aside, we also had Transfiguration and Charms today. I love Professor Flitwick, he's so small that he looks like a dwarf! He has to stand on top of a pile of books just to see over his desk! But he's so patient and supportive of the whole class! I think that Snape could learn a thing or two from him. Transfiguration is definitely harder than I thought it would be, we had to take tons of notes, and to tell you the truth Professor McGonagall scares me a little._

**Why? Is she as mean as Snape is?**

_No, but she's rather… intimidating to tell you the truth. Her class is super hard. But I finally managed to transfigure my match into a needle! As for our was Defense Against the Dark Arts class… oh, I can't tell you how pathetic that Lockhart is! We haven't learned one thing about how to fight the Dark Arts yet and instead all we did was listen to him go on and on about the things he did in his books and made us take a quiz on things like what his favorite color and what kind of birthday presents he wanted. I just knew I didn't like Lockhart when I first saw him that day in Flourish and Blotts._

**Is that the man with the smile that annoys you so much?**

_Yes, and let me tell you I never knew anyone could smile that much and not get tired. Especially with that ego of his inflating his big head!_

**I'm sorry that not all of your classes are going like you planned on it, Ginny. But tell me, how do you like Hogwarts?**

_I love it! It's not what I expected at all, but it's… _Ginny suddenly looked at the clock on the wall and then quickly wrote. _Oh, I'm sorry Tom, I can't talk anymore right now. I've got Herbology homework I need to do and I don't want to fall behind. But I promise to write to you later!_

**Alright Ginny. **Tom wrote back.** I'll be waiting. And don't forget, if you need someone to tell your secrets to, you can always come to me.**

_I know Tom. Thank you._

Ginny closed the diary and looked around the common room. Fred and George were in a corner with their friends and telling jokes while Ron, Harry and Hermione were at a separate table working on homework… no doubt seeing Ron's annoyed face. Ginny sighed as she got up and put the diary, quill and ink back into her bag and walked headed out the portrait hole.

After the portrait closed behind her, she heard a voice call out loudly. "Ginny? Just where do you think you are off too?" Ginny nearly jumped out of her skin as she spun around to see Percy, his horn-rimmed glasses glittering coldy, coming towards her with a look of disapproval on his face.

"Percy! Don't do that!" Ginny yelled.

"I don't like that tone, young lady," Percy said pompously as if he thought he was Mum all of a sudden.

Ginny rolled her eyes, far too used to her brothers' behavior to take him seriously. "Look, I was just going for a walk, I need to go and collect some plants for my Herbology homework if that's ok oh _'powerful prefect!'_" she added that last part sarcastically.

Percy looked at her for a moment, obviously deciding whether or not she was telling the truth. He pursed his lips for a moment, "You haven't been looking well lately, are you ok?" His voice held a twinge of concern in it.

Ginny blinked, surprised as this sudden change of subject. "I'm fine, just a bit tired from all the schoolwork I got today. But I really need to go and find some stuff for class tomorrow."

Percy nodded. "Ok, curfew isn't for a few more hours. But don't be too long, though. You need to get some sleep, one of your dorm mates told me that you were having nightmares last night. I don't want you to start getting in trouble like Harry and Ron have done. I've already told them off and sent an owl back to Mum and Dad. They should be absolutely ashamed of themselves! Flying a car to school? Don't know what they could've been thinking!"

Ginny bit her lip, wondering how long she was going to have to listen to this. "I think that they do feel bad about what they did, Percy, I don't think you need to harp on that any longer." And before her older brother could say anything else, she dashed off.

Ginny didn't really appreciate that people were talking about her nightmares for the last few nights. Especially when they were telling her bother! Not that she could ever remember what were about, but nevertheless, it left a sick just thinking about them. All she could remember was hearing the sounds of what had to be a dripping faucet and walking down a long, dimly lit chamber.

She shook her head. No, they were nothing to worry about. At least that's what Tom said when she told him yesterday about her worries.

**Nonsense, you'll be fine, Ginny. Dreams can't hurt you. Besides, what do you think that Harry Potter would think if he heard you were afraid of harmless dreams when he's faced far worse?**

Ginny frowned at the memory of Tom saying that. Tom could be rather cold sometimes she noticed that. But then again, he had a good point. Either way, it hurt when he threw her feelings about Harry in her face like that.

Not wanting to think about it, she thought about her classes again. She was getting really good in Charms, thought she was having some difficulty staying awake during History of Magic. She decided next time she would write to Tom if she got too bored. But what disturbed Ginny the most was that she had been here a week and hadn't made any friends at all.

Her dorm mates would give her funny looks every time she went in there, so she did her best to avoid her room unless she had to go to sleep, which wasn't very much because her nightmares had become more and more frequent and kept her up most of the night. This had a direct effect on her appearance as she began to grow very pale and rather grouchy from lack of sleep.

Most of the time she would ignore the rest of the House, but every once in a while she would either snap something back, or cower as if they were threatening her.

Ginny also had never really been around girls her age, having grown up in a house full of brothers. The only girl friend she had so far was Hermione Granger, who she hardly saw at all.

Hermione was a year above her, so the only times she could see her was in the common rooms or in the Great Hall for meals… not that she could talk to her then because she was constantly with Harry and Ron. The former she was just too embarrassed to be around and Ron would tell her to go away.

So, Ginny could almost always be found writing to Tom. He was kind, patient, and listened to all of her troubles in a way that no one else ever had. He even suggested that she take him around with her during the day, so that if she felt lonely she could write him. Tom was better than a friend; he was always there with her waiting to hear from her.

_Dear Tom_

_Fred and George are teasing me again… why couldn't I have some nice older sisters instead?_

_Dear Tom_

_Colin was sitting next to me again and was talking about his brother. I think that he's nice in his own way… but I do wish that he would stop taking so many pictures._

_Dear Tom_

_Harry looked at me during breakfast this morning… he was just talking with Ron when he noticed me staring at him! Oh, what an idiot I am!_

_Dear Tom_

_Some Slytherins are making fun of me because of my worn-out books and clothes… I wish I knew what to do._

_Dear Tom…_

_Dear Tom…_

_Dear Tom…_

And this was how Ginny would usually spend her evenings until she fell asleep and started to have nightmares again.

*Saturday*

Ginny woke up late on Saturday morning and decided to take a long walk around the lake and enjoy the freedom away from classes.

As she wandered around the muddy grounds, she just realized that she had barely seen Harry since Ron had gotten his Howler last week. She had heard that Colin Creevey was hounding him constantly, wanting to take pictures of him and ask constant questions which meant that he would spend most of his time avoiding everyone else.

Thinking of Harry while she sat alone near the lake made her feel a bit doey-eyed and romantic. She suddenly thought of a poem on her way through the grounds:

_Stars are shining in your emerald eyes,  
>When it comes to you, I can't tell lies.<br>I wish that we will together forever be  
>But I'm afraid that you still haven't yet to see.<em>

_My love for you is going strong  
>But I don't want to for that day for long.<em>

_I can only hope that one day you just might  
>Start seeing me in a brand new light!<br>But until that day does draw near  
>I will be waiting for you right here.<em>

Ginny walked along sighing with mushy poetry of Harry when the thought occurred to her,_ 'I wonder if he's roaming about the grounds too? Who knows, perhaps I'll bump into him… oh, but what would I say?' _she thought to herself with her grin slowly fading.

She became lost in thoughts until she noticed that she was nearing a small hut right near the forest. She blinked in surprise, wondering if she could visit the gamekeeper Hagrid… when she heard a booming voice coming from the back of the house.

"Fang! Ge' off tha' yer doozy dog!"

Curious, she couldn't help but peek around the tiny hut and see what was going on. Hagrid was there, trying to convince an enormous boarhound, which she could only guess as Fang, away from the largest pumpkins she had ever seen. They had to be the size of broom sheds at least! Ginny crept closer behind one of the smaller pumpkins, which was still big enough for her to sit in comfortably, to get a better look at what was going on. But she slipped on the muddy ground from all the rain last night and…

SPLAT!

Ginny was face-down in the mud.

Completely mortified, too embarrassed to move—all she could hope was that no one heard her. Maybe if she just stayed still long enough she would get lucky and suffocate on the mud. But before she was able to finish her thoughts, she suddenly felt a cold nose on the back of her head, and the sounds of loud barking.

"Well, well. What der find here Fang?" said that familiar voice and next second, she felt two large hands pull her up out of the mud by her arms and turn her around.

"Can I help yeh miss, er–"

"Weasley, Ginny Weasley," she said with a frown, wiping the mud from her eyes and spitting out the gunk she had in her mouth. "We met before…?"

"Ah, yer Ron's little sister! That's righ'. Sorry 'bout that, hard ter see ya with all tha' mud," he smiled kindly as he set her up on her feet. Though you couldn't see it through all the mud; but Ginny was burning red again when she looked down at herself. She was completely coated in the muck and she tried in vain to brush herself off, but seemed to be doing more harm than good.

"Would yeh like ter come 'nside and dry yerself off?" Hagrid offered her as he began to steer her towards the house. "I'll yeh feel better with a pot o' tea."

"What? Oh, no Hagrid, that's not necessary," Ginny stammered. "Really, I'm fine…"

"Come now, I insist. Yer soaked to the bone already," he said firmly as opened his front door and pulled her inside.

Ginny suddenly imagined Harry walking down the path to Hagrid's house and seeing her look like this. So to avoid the potentially humiliating confront, she figured it would be for the best to go inside and clean up. So she allowed herself to be brought into the hut.

Hagrid let her sit down in an oversized chair, nearly big enough to be a bed for her, with a towel around her shoulders and another one that she was using to try and clean her hair. He had already hung her cloak by the fire to dry and was pouring out tea. Looking around, Ginny decided that she loved Hagrid's house right away. Pots and pans, along with every other thing you could think of was ceiling rafters and the handmade quilt over the enormous bed in the corner. The dog Fang was drinking from his water dish and slobbering all over the place…

It reminded her so much of the Burrow… so warm and cozy.

"So tell me. How are yeh liking Hogwarts so far, Ginny?" Hagrid said handing her a hot cup of tea. "Do yeh like your teachers?"

"Yes, I suppose. But everything's different than what I expected," she said thoughtfully, sipping her tea. "I mean, Fred and George kept telling me about all these awful tests and punishments! They said that last year if you got in trouble you were taken into the forest and left there all night or had to fight trolls when you broke the rules!"

Hagrid laughed. "Now, now," he said gently waving his massive hand down at her. "Yer don' wan' ter believe everythin' yer brothers tell yer! Hogwarts isn' like tha' at all! The tests are hard if yer don' study for them. But when yer break a rule yer get detention. Though they're not that harsh. Mostly doin' things that'll help the teachers out like cleaning or somethin' like that."

Ginny sighed in relief. "Well that's a load off my mind, I guess. I can't believe that I ever believed those two idiots. But as for my teachers… I really like Professor McGonagall… though she kinda scares me."

Hagrid smiled. "She means no harm by that," he told her. "She's like that ter all the students. But yer can't ask for a better teacher."

Ginny nodded—that's true, she already learned a lot from her. "And I also really like Professor Sprout and Flitwick, but Professor Snape… not so much. I think he's a bit of a git."

Hagrid chuckled again. "Don' surprise me that yer said that. Yer brother… well, most of the students fer that matter says the same about him as well," he said with a gleam in his eye. "Yeh, Snape needs ter learn to lighten up. Er… I probably should' have said that. He's a teacher after all."

As he said this, Ginny grinned up at him. Fang, who was done with his dish, walked over and laid his large head in Ginny's lap, drooling on her knees—which caused her to laugh and scratched behind his ears.

"Oh, by the way, Hagrid," she said. "Those are the biggest pumpkins I've ever seen! How did you get them to grow so large?" she said nodding towards the garden outside the back window.

Hagrid smiled beneath his beard, his beetle black eyes shining, "I jus' er… gave 'em a bit o' help."

Ginny knew right away that he meant that he used magic. "Well, you've done a fantastic job with them, I have to tell you."

"Aw, thanks Ginny," he said, scratching his beard thoughtfully. "Now what yeh were doin' round the pumpkin patch anyway?"

Ginny tried to sound as casual about it as she could. "I was just exploring the grounds around the castle that's all. I heard Harry and Ron talking about your house before, and I thought I would check it out for myself. I didn't mean to intrude, really."

Her face warmed instantly at the thought.

Hagrid noticed the blush on her cheeks as soon as she said Harry's name. "I see yeh must think that Harry was here then?" he asked grinning.

She covered her head with the towel, hoping against hope that Hagrid wouldn't see how right he was.

Hagrid chuckled again. "No, he hasn' had a chance to visit yet. He's quite a fine young boy, tha' he is though."

Completely embarrassed at this point, she tried once again to change the subject. "Er, well, my clothes must be dry by now," she managed to sputter out, as she got up and checked her cloak by the fireplace. They were still quite damp, but she didn't care about that at the moment. All she could think about was how she could hide from the rest of the world and wallow in humiliation.

She pulled on her cloak and said politely, "Thank you Hagrid for your help, but I really must be going now. I… ah… I have some homework that I need to finish for Snape, and I don't want to end my first week in detention."

"Yer welcome, Ginny," he said, smiling beneath his shaggy beard as he escorted her to the door. "It's good ter meet the new students. I really enjoyed yer company, but I mus' be gettin' off me self. Still have the chickens to feed before I go and take care of a couple sick unicorns."

"Chickens and unicorns?" Ginny said, thinking of her dad tripping a few days ago, which suddenly made her feel homesick.

"Oh yeh! Have a coop just over there'," Hagrid said, nodding towards a large pen, just past the garden. "And the forest has a handful of unicorns… not tha' yer should ever go in there mind yer. Now, how 'bout yeh come by for tea tomorrow if yer free? We can talk more about the Quidditch season that's coming up?" he said with a wink.

"Sure," she said, turning pink again. "Thanks again… bye now," and she started back towards the castle, still covered in partially dried mud. Thankfully, no one saw her until she reached the common room and ran up to her dormitory.

*Later that day*

_Hello, Tom!_ Ginny wrote later on when she was clean and dry.

**Ginny! I haven't heard from you all day! Where have you been?**

_Sorry, I just wanted a chance to get some fresh air. While I was outside, I met the gamekeeper Hagrid and…_

But before she could finish telling him about her day, Tom wrote back:

**Hagrid? Do you mean by Rubeus Hagrid? How is he here?**

_Do you know him, Tom? _Ginny asked curiously._ He's been the gamekeeper here at Hogwarts for years from what I heard._

**Oh, I know him alright. He was expelled while I was here in my sixth year.**

_Really?_ Ginny wrote excitedly. _Can I ask him about you then? He might remember you and…_

**NO! Don't you dare! We weren't friends at all, Ginny. Please don't mention me to him, promise me that you won't. I know that it would make him angry.**

Ginny blinked in surprise. She didn't understand why Tom was acting like this. But she wrote down anyway: _I won't, Tom. I promise._ _But why? What's wrong with Hagrid?_

But Tom went on as if he didn't notice her words.

**How can he be the gamekeeper here? He should have been expelled from the school forever.**

_How could you say something like that Tom? He was so nice and helped me today after I fell in the mud._

**It's nothing. **He wrote back quickly. **Forget I mentioned it. I'm sorry for yelling at you, Ginny. I just was very surprised to see his name. Forgive me?**

_Of course, Tom. I guess I understand. But I do want to tell you all about Hagrid's pumpkins and his chicken coop…_

*That Night*

Ginny slowly drifted off to sleep, after stuffing her diary under her pillow, so tired and drained, hoping that she would feel better in the morning.

She had a very strange dream that night.

_(She dreamt that she slowly got out of bed and moved down the girl staircase into the empty common room. She looked around in a haze, not noticing anything—or anyone watching and made her way to the portrait hole out onto the pitch-dark corridors. _

'_It must be very late,' she thought to herself as if she was heading her way down the main staircase without getting lost once. Strange…_

_She didn't see anyone by the time she reached the front doors and out onto the moonlit grounds. In the distance, she could hear the sounds of crickets chirping and several large owls which had become nothing more than large shadows that flew around and about as they hunted for food. _

_Not sure why she was doing it, she just felt that she had to move silently, she just knew that she couldn't be seen or heard. She felt her bare feet, which were cold and wet, walk through the mud and grass until she reached Hagrid's hut. _

_She walked around it to where she saw the hencoop sitting where she last saw it and opened the door to the small enclosure, listening to the gentle breathing and occasional cluck from hens inside. At the end of the coop, there was a large rooster guarding over the rest of the chickens… before he noticed her and started squawking, she felt her small hand grasp around its throat. _

_Ginny wasn't sure what happened next… only that there was suddenly red and white feathers scattered about her. She felt as if someone else was controlling her hand and forcing it to keep squeezing and squeezing tighter until… she thought that she felt something break apart in her hands. She felt something fall limply and landed with a soft thud onto the ground, sending dirt and feathers skyward… and a dark, cold laughing echoing somewhere inside her own head…)_

Ginny woke up with a start, sitting bolt-upright and panting into the darkness. She looked around her, trying to figure out what was happening before she noticed the drapes around her bed were drawn, she was freezing and that her arms were oddly sore.

She looked at her bedside table to see the small alarm clock sitting there reading: 2:43… she got out of bed, careful to not wake any of the other girls, before she went into the bathroom so she could see what was going on with her. She looked into the mirror, a soft gasp echoing around her when she saw the white feathers sticking to her nightclothes, and her sleeves that were ripped and slashed.

Her breathing had become harsh, each breath of air was a struggle for her lungs to breath. She went back to her trunk and ripped her old nightdress off and tossed it at the foot of the bed before she pulled on clean clothes.

She rubbed her arms until her ivory skin was raw—as if trying to wash the nightmare from her mind; the nightmare she had no memory of. She didn't stop until she felt her eyelids beginning to droop again and crawled back into bed, pulling the curtains tightly around her blanket up to cover her head, trying to remember what had happened. She fell asleep like that… and when she awoke the next day… she didn't remember anything she did at all that night.

*Morning*

Ginny was once again writing in her diary… this time in the library.

_Dear Tom, I think I'm losing my memory. There are rooster feathers all over my robes, and I don't know how they got there. I wonder if I haven't begun sleepwalking or something," _Ginny scrawled quickly, anxious to tell Tom about how she woke up with rooster feathers and how she couldn't remember anything she had done last night.

**Perhaps it is because of all the sudden changes in your life recently. You know, coming to Hogwarts, meeting new people, all the magic in the air? That happens sometimes. You need to get used to it… I'm sure that once you do, everything will get better.**

_That makes sense, Tom. It certainly hasn't been easy for me to adjust. I've wanted to come to Hogwarts practically my whole life… and now that I'm here, I just don't know what's wrong with me. I'm so tired all the time, and I'm having trouble remembering things._

**I'm sure that once you get used to all the magic surrounding Hogwarts, you're sure to feel better.**

_Thanks for those words of comfort, Tom. _A thought crossed Ginny's mind. _I wonder if I was in Hagrid's chicken coup while I was sleepwalking? After all, his chickens are the one ones for miles around I'm sure._

**Maybe… I wasn't there so I can't tell you for sure. But it would make sense when you put it that way. So tell me what else happened to you today? There is more than simply sleepwalking on your mind.**

_"Oh yes! I nearly forgot to tell you about poor Hermione. I was coming upstairs to my dorm room to put my stuff away and I found her sitting on top of the stairs looking really upset. She looked like she needed someone to talk to, so I asked her what was wrong. And she told me that Draco Malfoy, that jerk I had told you about that I met back at Flourish and Blotts? had called her a Mudblood during Harry's Quidditch practice._

**What a horrible thing to say! He really has so class to say that right to a person's face like that… is she really a Mud… I mean a Muggle-born?**

_Yes. Well, of course she didn't know what it meant at first because she is a Muggle-born. Then Ron tried to stand up for her and curse Malfoy with his broken wand… but it backfired and he ended up throwing up slugs everywhere! Hermione and Harry took him to Hagrid's hut (I must've just missed them!), but there was really nothing that they could do for him but wait for it to stop!_ _The boys are in detention now, and I think that Hermione's wanted someone there with her. Oh, I felt so awful for her when she told me!_

**Well that was certainly an awful thing to say to Hermione. I know that even in my day, **_**Mudblood**_** was an appalling word. But why did she not tell Ron and Harry how much it was bothering her?**

_Believe me Tom, I know because I've lived with six brothers… Boys aren't always the most sympathetic when you're feeling bad. I suppose she wanted to look strong in front of them. I know that Harry wouldn't tease her about it, but knowing my brother… Ron would just say something stupid off the top of his head. He's always been like that._

**That is true for most boys of that age. Some just cannot deal with emotions and other people's feelings.**

Ginny wasn't sure about that… Harry was never like that. _I guess so… I just wish that I knew what to do._

**I'm sure that you both will be just fine. **

_Thanks Tom, I hope you're right. Well, I'm not feeling so well today, I think I need some more fresh air._

**Alright then, Ginny. I'll be waiting for your return.**

Ginny placed the diary back under her pillow and left Gryffindor Tower. She went through the castle, feeling more at ease than she had all week and headed straight for the front doors… planning on visiting Hagrid again and thank him again for helping her.

She skipped across the beautifully kept grounds, appreciating the view more than ever before until she came into sight of Hagrid's hut. Loud barking could be heard from inside it. She even sang a little tune under her breath as she made her way towards the house and smiled broadly when she saw Hagrid opening the door to let Fang outside.

"Hagrid!" she called and waved down at him.

He looked up and smiled when he saw who it was. "'Ello there, Ginny," he called as she came closer. "Whatcha doin'? Glad to see yer came to visit after all," he said as he let her in.

"Back Fang! Back!" Hagrid pulled him off her. Ginny sat down at the table, while Fang just drooled all over her robes like he did yesterday. He was such a sweet dog, despite his fierce looks, much like his owner.

"He seems ter like yeh," Hagrid said as he placed a rather large pot of tea and mugs on the table. "He likes mos' anyone."

Ginny grinned as she sipped her tea.

"Now, what brings yeh out an' about the grounds today? Not lookin' fer someone in particular again were yeh?" Hagrid said, grinning slyly.

Ginny's blush grew redder. Why did he have to bring that up again?

"I… I was just looking around a bit that's all," Ginny replied, hoping he didn't notice how she had stuttered a bit. "Fred and George told me all about it and…"

Hagrid shook his head as he held out a plate of rock cakes that he must've made himself. "Bin chasin' yer older brothers away from the Forbidden Forest since they go' here. Those two are something else, eh?"

Ginny was too polite to refuse the cakes, although Ron had warned about Hagrid's cooking, so she merely pretended to enjoy them as Hagrid went out to check on the chickens real quick, which gave her enough time to slip the cakes into her pockets.

When he came back however, he was looking upset and… she blinked startled… carrying a dead rooster?

"Hagrid?" she asked timidly as he laid the dead bird on the table.

"Killed," he said sadly. "I liked tha' bird ter. He took care of the hens. Can' figure out what did it. Looks like he's been strangled ter me."

Ginny looked sadly at the limp bird. She reached out to touch the neck and saw Hagrid was right. "I'm sorry," she said.

He shook his head as he looked out the window. "I hop' that they don' all ge' killed like that," he said concerned. "If this happens again, I'll hav' to go to Professor Dumbledore…"

Ginny left not long after that, for some reason, the rooster's death disturbed her greatly, and she even ignored Percy's complaining that she was looking pale and threatened to take her Madam Pomfrey if she didn't start looking better soon.

How like Percy to always demand that things go his way, whether he had control over them or not… her life wasn't any of his business so he should butt out! She also ignored the stares from the girls in her dormitory, when she came in and threw herself onto her bed, closing her eyes and wishing that she would wake up from this nightmare already.

**(Hope you enjoyed this chapter… I thought that it would be better to make it all sound like she was dreaming and not remember anything that happened when she woke up. What do you think? Next chapter: Halloween and the first attack! Why does Mrs. Norris become the first victim? Find out soon…)**


	10. Life at School

**Chapter 9: Life at School**

By the end of September, the first years were all settling into their routines and getting used to their classes. Some were becoming mischief makers and following in Fred and George's footsteps… there was a tiny group of studious students who spent most of their time with their noses in their textbooks or writing essays… and a strong band of some hard-core Quidditch fanatics, who spent most of their time looking at broomstick models in the Prophet or talking about their favorite teams.

Everyone's lives seemed to be falling into place at Hogwarts… everyone that is but Ginny.

These days, Ginny had taken to spending all her free time alone in her dormitory, writing to Tom. Tom seemed to be the only one who could understand her—just _really_ understood what she was feeling and going through. Despite all the noises that were taking place in the common room below her, she would write well into the light until she fell asleep with the quill still in her hand and the diary opened on her pillow.

Because of this, she started falling asleep during the day and often had to have someone wake her up to get her to go to classes. She just couldn't understand what was happening… she used to be such an early riser and full of energy… what was going on with her?

_**"Ginny! Ginny can you hear me?"**_

Ginny could hear someone calling her name. She rolled over in her bed, barely noticing the fact that she was being poked in her side.

_**"Ginny! Will you hurry and wake up already?"**_ the voice called out again, only this time it was louder and more insistent/irritated. She tried to brush the hand away as she over onto her stomach. "Leave me alone! I'm trying to sleep," she murmured into her pillow which she just realized was very hard and lumpy.

_**"GINNY MOLLY WEASLEY! YOU WAKE UP RIGHT THIS SECOND OR SO HELP ME…!"**_ Percy's loud and angry voice bellowed in her ear. Ginny opened her eyes, frowning, as she looked up into the face of her older brother who was fuming… his checks were flushed and his glasses were practically steaming up from all the shouting that he must've been doing.

"What is it?" she asked rubbing her eyes with a yawn and looked around in a confused way. She could've sworn that she went to sleep in her dorm room… but instead it turns out she was in the Gryffindor Common room, obviously sleeping on the sofa.

"Ginny?" Percy sat down next to her when she sat up and put her feet on the floor."What on earth is wrong with you? You said that you were only going up to get your books for your next class, but you never came down for dinner!"

Ginny's brow furrowed as she tried to remember what happened. She had another nightmare last night and wanted to catch a few z's before dinner she knew that much… and she was sure that she went up and laid down on her bed… but then how did she get here? However, she wasn't going to tell Percy about her nightmares—who would just tell her to grow up and that it wasn't anything to worry about—and that's _if_ she's lucky! He would make her go and see Madam Pomfrey if he suspected anything was wrong with her.

"Yeah," Ginny said with another yawn. "I was up late finishing up my homework… so I guess… I guess I just fell asleep here when I sat down."

She wished he would stop glaring at her like she was up to something. She didn't want to talk to him right now. She wanted her parents more than anything… she missed the Burrow… she missed her bedroom with the rising sun shining through her window every morning… she missed hearing her mum downstairs making breakfast and yelling at them all to get up before the food was gone… she missed the long grass that grew in the garden that she would lay in and look up at the blue sky… she missed being able to talk with her parents about her problems…

Percy, despite all his well-meaning intentions, was a poor substitute for a parent.

"I know that you're having a hard time adjusting here," Percy told her as he stood up and polished his Prefect badge with his sleeve until it shone."I was getting worried when you never came down to eat with the rest of us so I came up to see what was taking so long. If you hurry you might be able to get a bite or something, ok?"

"What's going on?" called a familiar voice as the portrait hole opened up and Ron came in with Fred and George.

"Where are you off to?" Percy demanded, as if he was Mum when she wanted to keep tabs on where everyone was going, as the twins headed up the stairs to their dorm and Ron waited impatiently.

"Me and Hermione are going down to the Quidditch field and watch the team practice, not that it's any of your business," Ron told Percy coldly.

Percy glared at him but seemed satisfied with the answer as he turned back to Ginny and said, "Ginny, you haven't been looking well lately and I know that there's this bug going around so…"

"I don't need anything!" Ginny snapped crossly as she got to her feet, swaying slightly and feeling lightheaded.

"Now Ginny, I _demand _you to take some of the Pepperup Potion that Madam Pomfrey has been handing out!"

"Percy, for the last time, leave me alone! I'm not sick!" Ginny shouted at him—but she might've just been yelling at a brick wall for all the good it did. Percy had been hounding her to take the potion all week, convinced that she was coming down with the flu like several of the other students.

"Ginny, you're pale as a sheet," he went on stubbornly as if he hadn't been listening to a single word she said. "You're not yourself. So I am telling you that it's for your own good to take the potion."

"I'm fine!" she yelled and picked up her bag, which was what she had been using as a pillow, as she stamped out through the portrait hole.

Ginny tried her best to act as if nothing was wrong, but Percy was right about one thing… she hadn't been herself lately. She was constantly tired, and becoming more forgetful with each passing day. She was convinced that she had begun sleepwalking… because she would go to sleep in one place and suddenly wake up in somewhere else around castle, sometimes even outside during the day.

But most of all, Ginny was so lonely it felt like a constant ache inside her. Aside from Tom, she felt that there was no one who cared with what she had to say. When she wasn't in class, she spent most of her time shut up in her dorm room and cry onto the diary's pages… or would write to him all of her fears and sorrows—the dreams that she hoped that she would be able to reach on day… as she would also gaze off at the Quidditch pitch in the distance.

She had too much pride to tell anyone else how unhappy she was… how no one liked her because she was a poor girl with ugly red hair and too shy to speak. And how she was stuck with second-hand robes and school books… she knew that she was sounding selfish and that her parents had done their best, but was it really wrong to want nice things too?

She blinked suddenly, realizing that she somehow wondered down to the second floor corridor. How'd that happen? Confused, she looked behind her as if expecting to see a sign telling her which way to go. She was trying to go down the Great Hall, not the bathrooms… but she didn't focus too much on it as a splitting headache ran through her strangely foggy brain.

All she could think of was that she wasn't paying attention to where she was going. Yes, that had to be it. She couldn't think of any other explanation unless she was losing her memory. Still feeling light-headed she turned and headed back to the stairs, silently hoping that she didn't trip over her own feet as she dragged them across the floor.

She unexpectedly saw a gang of Slytherins coming her way from the other end of the hall and she had to dive down a different corridor to avoid them. The Slytherins, Malfoy especially, had made a habit of teasing her whenever they saw her.They were always poised to strike when she was at her weakest, just like snakes in the grass… appropriate.

Ginny remembered the brief, yet pompous, speech that Lucius Malfoy had given her back that day in Diagon Alley when things seemed so much simple. "_Take it, girl, it's the best your father can give you.__" _It hurt her because she knew that he was right.

And so, every day, the Slytherin's mocked her about her patched clothes, her worn-out books, and her red hair. She knew that they also did it to the rest of her brothers too, and that the older Slytherins were a lot crueler than the first-year thugs she was stuck with; but Ginny couldn't help but feel like she was about to break whenever they ridiculed her. She couldn't even look at anyone after that. She overheard Percy telling some other first years to report anyone who was bullying them, but she was smart enough to know that wouldn't help at all. It'd only made the teasing worse, and everyon laugh at how weak you were.

Grown-ups just don't understand why kids have to deal with bullying themselves.

So to make a long story short… her school life was nowhere near as wonderful as she dreamt that it would be. That was why she needed Tom almost constantly. He was kind and offered her helpful advice… heck, he even helped her with her homework. It wasn't like he would tell anyone her secrets and he made her feel that things were going to be ok. He never treated her like she was a faceless, nameless person…

Yep… that's all she was to everyone else… she was invisible.

She just couldn't understand why all these depressing thoughts kept playing themselves over and over again inside her head. Where were these ideas coming from anyway? She glanced down at her robes and was surprised to find what looked like slime sticking to the helm of her clothes. Where did that come from? Last she checked, there wasn't slime there when she got up this morning… and she hadn't even been outside yet.

She was having such a hard time remembering things she done—even if it was just a few minutes ago… Did someone leave a mess in one of the hallways and she walked it through it without noticing it?

It was almost as strange as the time she found the feathers on her robes and couldn't think of where they came from. The best she could come up with was maybe some chicken feathers stuck to her clothes when her dad dropped her trunk on the way to the car before term started. They had so many hens and roosters at home… maybe when he dropped it, the trunk burst open and scared the chickens?

Again, she wasn't sure anymore, but she didn't dwell on it. Tom told her that it wouldn't do to worry. Especially if he was as lost on the answers as she was.

Ginny was feeling more and more like an outsider every day. She was becoming more isolated and unsocial, which wasn't like her at all. She had always been friendly and thrilled to meet new people… especially when it came to her brother's friends. She wasn't saying that the girls in her dorm were mean or anything… Ginny just felt like she didn't fit in with that cheerful and go-lucky crowd anymore, though she didn't know why.

And as much as she started liking Hermione, who was always up for a conversation with her—she spent most of her time with Ron and Harry. As much as Ginny wanted to talk to a girl about her problems and fears, she found it complicated. After all, she was one of Harry's best friends. What if Hermione accidently let slip to him how she truly felt about Harry? Then there was Hagrid—sure he was sympathetic and kind—but she had been warned not to trust him your secrets.

And absolutely worst of all, were her dumb brothers. Fred and George, who already teased her on a daily basis, only got worse when they caught her sneaking around the Quidditch pitch to watch them play once. After that, they often said to her in loud, carrying voices that they were going to tell Harry that she liked him. They said it in a way that made Ginny sure they would never _actually_ tell him… but it still hurt when they pretended to act like they didn't care about her feelings. Percy of course was harassing her to no end as if he thought he was their Mum. As for Ron, well—he usually just ignored her as if she wasn't there, which meant that Harry was usually forced to do so too since they were almost always together.

As she reached the Great Hall, a small smile came to her lips as she thought of the one thing that was sure to make her feel better. Watching Harry play Quidditch. She sighed dreamily—she was so looking forward to watching him soar above the field and fly as well as any professional made it easy to forget that something was wrong. She blushed crimson at the thought, bringing some color back to her pale cheeks.

But she also knew that she still had a lot of homework piling up. They were already in the last week of October, but that didn't stop the professors from assigning them work. She knew that it was too much to hope that her problems would get better overnight, seeing on how her homesickness seemed to be getting worse. Her lessons weren't going as well as she had hoped—but it wasn't as if she was terrible at the classes themselves. The real problem was that she was just so tired that she rarely was able to do a good job on her homework. Her nightmares kept waking her up every night and it was all she could do to stay awake. What was wrong with her?

Just thinking about her classes made her groan at the thought of her workload. She still had to write an essay on some common poisons for Potions… read up on a few chapters for Herbology, practice the Wingardium Leviosa spell for Charms… the work pile just seemed to go on and on.

And speaking of Potions, just thinking about her essay made her angry. She remembered her last potion's class with Snape and how he walked over to her table to sneer… "Now what do we have here?" he asked as he peered into her cauldron. The Forgetfulness Potion she was trying to make was supposed to be thick and bubbling—and instead hers was watery and hardly steaming. "It seems your lack of skill and inability to brew potions must run in the family."

Ginny wasn't looking forward about going back to the Dungeons anytime soon. She went red with fury as she thought of the greasy-haired Snape. But her bad mood soon faded once she was out in the open air and watched the Gryffindor team practice… from the security of under the bleachers of course, where her brothers didn't have a hope of seeing her and rubbing it in her face later on.

It was a few hours later—after she snuck back to the castle, did she go up to her dorm and told Tom about her day. She didn't write as much as she normally did because she could barely keep her eyes open and said a hasty goodnight to Tom. She finally went to sleep, with her bright red hair fanned out on her pillow and began to dream again… this time of wandering down to the second floor after dark and entering a depressing bathroom.

*The Next day*

Ginny was in pain. Her body was full of aches and pains that she could hardly move. She had been sick before, but it never hurt like this—and she didn't seem to have come down with the same colds and flu's that the rest of the school had come down with.

Every single bone, muscle and cell of her body just seemed to sting and ache every time she moved. She sat at her desk during History of Magic, her head propped on her arms and tried to make it through this one last class without falling asleep. If she could get through this one more lesson, she would be free for the rest of the day. She made it… but only barely.

Once the bell finally rang, she forced her aching body to get up and walked down the stairs for dinner. She hadn't eaten since the day before yesterday, and she hoped that some food would do some good. As she made her way down a sunny corridor she came across, the scrawny and rumored to be evil incarnate, caretaker's cat—Mrs. Norris. Ginny had been warned to stay away from this cat at all times from the older students because she will report to the grouchy caretaker—who will find any excuse to put you in detention. But come on… she wasn't doing anything wrong.

To be safe, she just chose to walk around gray cat, and avoid all trouble. If she kept wasting time here, she was going to be late to watch Quidditch practice. "Hello Mrs. Norris…" she said as the feline gave her a stern look like she was suspicious of something. The cat narrowed her yellow eyes and let out a loud 'meow' when Ginny had walked passed.

"What do you think you're doing to my cat?" a loud growl came from behind her causing her to jump and almost tripped. "I swear if you do anything to Mrs. Norris then I'll make sure you get detention every night for the rest of the year!"

Ginny regained her balance and turned around to see the cat's owner, Mr. Filch, standing nearby with a red nose, and a scarf wrapped about his head. He had obviously caught the same flu that was going around—which had put him in a bad mood. Ginny couldn't help but wrinkle her nose as she thought of how dirty he was even when he wasn't sick. He had had grimy clothes, thin and greasy hair, with nails that were grubby—and don't get her started on his yellow and crooked teeth.

Ginny gave him a scowl. "I wasn't doing anything! I was just walking by her, is that a crime now?"

Filch eyes widened in anger as soon as she opened her mouth. "You brats are all the same. I ought to give you detention for talking back alone! And that's not even counting the fact that I know that you were up to no good! How could you not with having those two demons for brothers!" Ginny looked at him even more defiantly now, standing her ground.

He grabbed her by the upper arm and hulled her up to his office where he threatened her with detention and to hang her in the dungeons with the chains that were sitting in the corner of the room. She just glared back coldly, not in the mood to listen to him waste her time. Finally after about 15 minutes of yelling and threatening, he gave her a detention.

"FOR WHAT?" Ginny screamed at him. Getting up from her seat and slamming her hands onto the desk in fury. "WALKING BY YOUR STUPID CAT! IS IT A CRIME TO WALK THE HALLWAYS TO DINNER?"

"For talking back with that attitude alone is enough for detention," Filch snarled back, clearing enjoying how angry she was. "Now my cat alerted me that something was up and she's never wrong. I arranged it so that you will be serving detention for Halloween night so I hope you don't have any other plans."

Ginny was so furious, she was willing to give almost anything she had to throw some powerful and awful curses at him right now.

"You're lucky that I don't give you another one for shouting like that," he growled as he got up and put her file into a filing cabinet. Ginny couldn't help but notice with some pride that Fred and George had an entire drawer to themselves.

"However," Filch grunted nastily. "Fortunately for you, I have work to do or else you would be serving detention all week for shouting at my sensitive hearing. But, some other brats have been leaving vomit all over the place so I'm the one who has to clean up after them. But you better watch your step from here on out. I'm going to be watching you…" he glared at her as he practically tossed her out of his office and turned his attention to his cat. "Come along, my sweet. We can think of better things we should be doing instead of dealing with these monster for students."

Ginny marched away, feeling a bit of vindictive pleasure when he gave a great hacking cough into his handkerchief—with Mrs. Norris trotting behind him. She waited until she was he was out of sight before she started running, angry tears falling down her face.

Ginny tried hard not to dread the detention that was waiting for her—as if she didn't have enough on her plate with her mounting homework and lack of sleep. She hoped that she could forget about it as she stomped out to the Quidditch pitch, to hide behind the bleachers and watch them play. However by the time she got there, practice was over. She had missed seeing the team practice and had landed herself in detention.

And she knew that it was Mrs. Norris' fault.

*Next Day*

The next day wasn't much better, because it had been raining when she went down to spy on the team. It was raining heavier than it had in the last few weeks and Ginny was forced to run across the grounds as fast as she could. But with her luck, she was soaked to the bone by the time she had got to her usual hiding place.

As she wiped the wet hair out of her eyes, she noticed with disappointment that the team was ready to call it a day. And judging by the looks of it, things hadn't gone well as they all spent another five minutes in the air before they landed in the thick mud and marched bravely off to the locker rooms. Ginny wasn't a hundred percent sure, but it seemed like it was more than the rain and mud that was bothering them. Especially Harry, who by the time they landed, had his head lowered in disappointment.

Ginny was curious to know what had been troubling him like this. He looked as though he needed someone to talk to and started thinking up hundreds of ways she could ask him about it. As she waited for them to come out, she began thinking to herself, _'He surely wouldn't mind if I just ask him what was bothering him… besides, he usually heads back to the castle a little behind the others… and it's not like Ron and Hermione are here… this could be my only chance to finally talk to him. I just need to calmly walk up to him and ask if there's anything bothering him. But wait, I'm soaking wet! He'll know right away that I was watching… er… ok, I could say that I had just… just came from… visiting Hagrid's house, and I got caught in the rain! Perfect excuse!'_

The more she thought about it, the more appealing it sounded to her. _'Now, how am I going to ask him? If I just go straight up to him with nothing, I'll forget how to talk and make a fool of myself… again.' _She growled to herself in embarrassment as she remembered all the times that she forgot how to talk, tripped, or knocked something over while he was around. She shook her head clear and thought about something to say.

'_Ok… let me see… how about keep it simple? "What's wrong Harry?" No, that sounds stupid! I need to be more grown-up than that. How about… "Oh hey, Harry. Just come from Quidditch practice? Is everything all right?" No… no, that sounds like I'm stupid, of course he'd be coming from practice. Why else would he be walking through the rain? Oh, wait… "Hey, Harry. I just got back from Hagrid's hut… are you ok? You look like something's bothering you?" That's good! I'll use that. Now, if only I can remember it by the time I finally catch up to him. It'll be easy… all I got to do is wait until he comes out.'_

Ginny waited patiently as the three girls came out first—jealous that they were on the team—closely followed by her brothers, the team captain—who the twins call the bane of their existence—and at last, Harry. He was easily the smallest person on the team and had pulled his cloak up over his head to cover himself from the rain and thick mud.

Ginny crept quietly behind him, far enough to duck and hide if he turned around—but close enough so that he was in her sights the whole time as she tried to muster up the courage to talk to him.

But even as it began to rain harder and he hurried to the front doors, she still couldn't find her voice to call out to him to wait up for her. She followed his muddy tracks all the way up to the castle—and through the hallways. She just kept following him up staircases and down corridors… thankfully, she was able to stop herself from running around the corner where Harry had stopped to talk to the Gryffindor House ghost, Nearly Headless Nick, who was floating in front of a window.

Ginny jumped back to hide behind a large statue before risking a peek around the corner to watch them. Nearly Headless Nick had given Harry, what looked like a letter to her, and let him read it. Just as Harry handed it back, Nick was looking really annoyed by something.

She was caught up for a moment as she looked at Harry's concerned expression. Somehow, she ended up in a wonderful daydream with Harry—smiling so brightly that it made her heart melt—and holding out his hand for her to take. She reached out to take it and he gently lifted her into his arms… and he opened his mouth to say… he said…

Suddenly, she heard a loud meowing coming down the corridor which brought her back down to earth.

So much for wonderful daydreams as she grumpily looked behind her to see Mrs. Norris running pass her. Her hatred for that cat only got worse as she suddenly remembered all the mud that she and Harry had left all over the place. She knew that Filch would be furious and obviously try to give Harry detention like he did with her.

She was about to run out and warn him… but it was too late. "Filth!" she heard Filch shout hoarsely. She peeked around the corner again, biting her lip, and watched as Harry waved a gloomy goodbye to Nick and followed the bitter caretaker down another corridor, no doubt about to get a detention.

Ginny slid down the brick wall behind her and cursed herself softly. "_Oh, great Ginny! How stupid could you get? You had your chance right there practically on a silver platter and you ruined it by chickening out! You had so many chances to talk to him… you should've just gritted your teeth and said something!"_ Her thoughts of guilt and frustration however, were soon interrupted when she started coughing, and remembered that she was still wet from the rain. Maybe she could use a little bit of the Pepperup potion after all… not that she was going to give Percy the satisfaction that he might be right.

*Later*

Ginny quickly went back up to her dormitory room and plopped down on her bed. She was so tired, but now that she was up here, but needed someone to talk to. Closing her curtains around her bed, she took her diary from under her pillow and began to write to Tom about what happened. Maybe he could give her some advice to what to do.

_Tom… I'm such an idiot! Things can't get any worse!_

**Ginny. **Tom wrote back. **What happened now?**

_I've just been having a bad week. First, my nightmares keep getting worse! Oh, Tom… they just feel so real… like they're really happening. You remember how I told you about those rooster feathers all over my robes? This time I woke up with slime… I don't remember walking through any slime! I don't know what's wrong with me!_

**Now, Ginny. I need you to be brave for me and to just calm down. I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for all of this.**

_Well, what is it then?_ She demanded in desperation. _Yesterday I came up to the dormitory and I know that I feel asleep in my bed, but when I woke up, I was downstairs in the common room. The feathers, the slime, the nightmares… I don't have any idea where they came from. Am I going mad? Should I tell someone about this?_

**Like who? Who do you think would help with this?**

_I dunno… maybe a teacher? I don't think I'm sick or anything but… maybe Madam Pomfrey…?_

**I don't think that's a very good idea, Ginny. **Tom wrote back quickly. **They might think that you're making it up to get attention, or worse… think that you're really going mad. **_**I**_** know you aren't Ginny, but I think that it would be better to keep it a secret at least for now. We need to be careful or else you could end up being hospitalized if they think it's serious. I promise you, Ginny that you'll always have me if you need to talk to someone about it.**

Yes, that was right. She smiled as she hugged the diary to herself. She'd always have Tom—at least he cared about what happened to her.

**You're just homesick, Ginny. **Tom assured her.** That's all. Things haven't been going like you expected when you first got here have they? A I know that you miss how things used to be. **

_I guess I do miss Mum and Dad at the Burrow… _Ginny admitted.

**You see? You'll be fine, Ginny. You just have to keep reminding yourself that you'll be going home soon enough! Now stop thinking about all this and tell me everything else that's bothering you.**

Ginny hesitated, she didn't like how Tom had shoved her fears aside like that. But he must have a good reason, so instead she let it drop as she then began to write about what happened with Harry and Mrs. Norris. She told him how she wanted to say something to him on his way back to the castle but she chickened out. And then she told him how that dumb cat Mrs. Norris got her detention, made her late, and got Harry in trouble all in just two days.

_And that was the end of it, Tom_, she related mournfully a little while later about how she just hid there like a baby and watched Filch take Harry away. _I can't help but think that if I just had a little more time, I might've just been able to talk to him… I know that it was wishful thinking, but that cat sure isn't making things any easier!_

**Harry Potter will notice you someday, Ginny,** Tom wrote back.

_I hope so, Tom. But I'll have to get that rotten cat out of the way first. _Ginny scribbled crossly. _She's__ been making things even harder for me.__ Perhaps I'm being a little harsh Tom, but I can't help but feel this way. _

**I see. And whose cat is she again?**

_She belongs to the mean caretaker Filch. _Ginny wrote back so angrily that her handwriting was barely readable. _From what I heard from the other students, she's the only living thing that likes him. I can't imagine why. Did you know that Filch is a Squib? At least that's what I heard…_

And so Ginny went on and on with everything that seemed to be going wrong. Once she had written about her last two disastrous days she stopped to see what Tom had to say about it all.

**Are you feeling any better, now that you're getting all this off your chest, Ginny?**

_A little bit. Tom, I have a question… why can't we choose who our brothers are?_ She asked gloomily.

**Are they still being cruel to you?**

_Fred and George especially!_ Ginny wrote, feeling close to tears again._ They used to tease me all the time back home, but it was never as hurtful as it is now. They make fun of me in front of their friends all the time. I can't believe them! I WISH they would just lay off me. They're cruel, absolutely cruel. They make fun of me and then they just howl with laughter…_

**Have you told them to leave you alone?**

_Don't you think I've tried? Mum's the only person who can tell them what to do!_

**I see… but what about your two other brothers there with you?**

_Ron doesn't even look at me anymore. __He just tells me to go away and leave him alone. Like he thinks I'll just embarrass him or something in front of Harry and Hermione._

**And Percy?**

_Believe it or not, he's even worse, but in a different way. At least he doesn't tease me. But it's like he thinks he's Mum and Dad now! _Shescowled in humiliation at how he kept treating her like she was still a baby._ He acting like I can't take care of myself and that I'm like some fragile doll that could break. He keeps trying to get me to drink some potions because he thinks I'm sick. Honestly, I wish he could stop acting like it's his job to take care of me. _She sighed. _Oh, Tom, Hogwarts isn't anything like I thought it'd be._

**Why don't you send your parents a letter and tell them how miserable you are? They might be able to help you.**

_Because, I don't want them to know how unhappy I am! _Ginny scribbled quickly._ I was so happy when I finally got my letter, they might not think I'm cut out for Hogwarts. I want them to stop looking at me like I'm a baby, and more like I'm growing up! And besides, I can't figure out what's wrong myself. I had been dreaming about coming here ever since Bill. But things aren't like I imagined them to be. I thought I would be making so many new friends, learning spells, and having fun. That's what all my brothers have said about it anyway… but so far, I've made no friends, haven't learned anything really useful despite the heavy load of homework that we keep getting, and I'm not having any fun at all. The guy of my dreams doesn't know I exist, my brothers are all ignoring me, and now I think that this place is actually making me sick or something because I've never felt so ill in my whole life! I looked in the mirror this morning and I'm all pale with dark circles under my eyes that make me look like a skull… _

She shivered as the memory and had to wash her face so hard that it was almost red raw. _It can't let Harry see me like this. I mean, I know I look bad enough in my second-hand robes—and if I admit that I'm sick, it would only make Percy even more smug. Oh, Tom, I'm so glad I have this diary to confide in, if I didn't have you to write to I don't know how I'd hold onto my sanity. _

**I am so glad you feel that way Ginny. I'm pleased I can be here for you when you need it. Speaking of Harry Potter… what does he do? Does he follow your brothers leads? Does he make fun of you? Or just ignores you?**

_Neither I guess,_ _but he's so involved with Ron and Hermione and everything else that he barely notices me. I mean, at least when he sees me, he gives me a smile or says hi… _she wrote with another sigh, but this one was for an entirely different reason. _Of course, that's better than what my lousy brothers do. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you! I was so wrapped up in feeling sorry for myself. You'll never believe what I just heard. Colin Creevey told me all about it!_

**Colin Creevey? The boy who talks too much and sits next to you in Charms?**

_Yes, him. He's really nice, but also annoying. Like that hyper little cousin who's always bugging you? Anyway, he absolutely idolizes Harry. He went down to the Quidditch pitch a while back to take pictures of him. He was so excited when he found out that wizard pictures move. He's from a Muggle family and told me that people in Muggle pictures don't move. Did you know that? How weird!_

**Yes, I knew that Muggle pictures don't move. But what happened?**

_Well, Colin told me that Draco Malfoy went and 'bought' his way onto the Slytherin team! Can you believe someone could be so… so…? _She was having a hard time thinking up a good insult to call Malfoy, but Tom helped her out by suggesting…

**Pathetic?**

_Perfect, Tom! Malfoy must've been desperate to get on the team, but is such a bad flyer that he had to go and buy the rest of the team brand-new broomsticks to join! And not just any brooms either! Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones! The best brooms that money can buy!_

**Well, he must've been sure that he wouldn't make the team unless he paid all that money to get them to take him. Seems like a waste of money though.**

_Oh, I can think of a million better uses for that money! Get some good clothes and books for a start! Dad has always said that the Malfoys are part of the group of wizards that believe that they are better than everyone else because they're purebloods. He also says that they were part of You-Know-Who's inner circle and that they still believe that they're his most faithful servants, despite claiming that they were forced to follow him. Dad has always said that You-Know-Who believed that anyone who wasn't a pureblood didn't deserve to live! Isn't that awful, Tom? You don't believe that do you?_

**Of course not, Ginny. I'm half-blood myself. Didn't I tell you that my father was a Muggle**?

_I remember. I was just making sure. You seem too kind to believe in garbage like that._

**Speaking of pictures… **Tom went on.** Did you just say that Creevey took a bunch of pictures of Harry flying?**

**Yeah. **Ginny wrote back, wondering where Tom was going with this.

**Oh, nothing. I was just curious if you stole any of them?**

Ginny went bright red as she wrote out:_ TOM!_

**I'm kidding, I'm only kidding. **Tom wrote back. **But it does seem like something you would do.**

Ginny went even redder as she wrote back quickly. _No. I didn't take any of Colin's pictures. _(But she couldn't help but think that she might've been able to come up with some kind of plan to get one without Colin realizing that she liked Harry. That was definitely something to think about.)_ But I'm sure that Harry's really worried about the Quidditch match coming up. The whole team must be worried about going up against another team with such spectacular brooms. But I'm not too worried. I'm sure that he could out fly them all even if he was stuck on one of the school's old brooms. Boy, I can't wait to see Malfoy's face when Gryffindor kicks their butts. I bet Slytherin will be sorry that they ever let him on the team._

**I bet so too. Harry sounds like he is a very talented player.**

_Oh, he is! I mean, I wish you could see it! I've been watching them practice and—he's only twelve—but he flies better than most professionals! _

**Very impressive.**

_I'd love to tell him how amazing I think he is, but I don't think he would like it. He doesn't seem to like attention much and he doesn't like Colin following him around all the time. I do wish that Colin would take a hint. At least I have the decency to keep quiet and not tell anyone… except you of course. But Tom, I'm so depressed that Harry will never like me._

**I'm sure he will one day, Ginny. Like I said before, you just have to be patient. He's only twelve years old. Boys don't really become interested in girls until they're a little bit older. It might not be this year… but I think you're expecting too much too soon.**

_Do you really think so, Tom? I guess you're right. As always. Maybe I should at least start off with trying to talk to him first before we move onto dating. Maybe if I start to talk to him more, he'll start liking hanging out with me. I would love that. Well, anyway, I have to get started on some of my homework. Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall gave us so much this weekend and I haven't even started. _

**Alright, Ginny. Let me know if you need any help, those were some of my favorite classes in school and I'll be more than happy to give you tips.**

_Thanks, Tom. I will! Talk to you soon!_

Ginny worked on her homework for a little while, but was so exhausted by the time she finished her Transfiguration work that she went to sleep without bothering to change into her pajamas. That night she had another nightmare… she was standing outside a stone door that had statues of snakes with emerald eyes…

**(Good. I'm finally done! These chapters just seem to be getting harder and harder to write. Hope you enjoyed it, and the next chapter—Ginny wakes up with paint all down her front. How will she take it when she realizes that it's not paint? Hope you are looking forward to it.)**


	11. The First Attack

**Chapter 10: The First Attack**

"Miss Weasley," called a faint, yet stern voice as though it was just the shadow of an echo. Ginny groaned as shut her eyes even tighter, wanting to sink back into her deep sleep and, at first, not even listening to whose voice it was calling out to her. "MISS WEASLEY!" the voice suddenly screamed in her ear.

Ginny's head jerked up, wide awake as she stared around her—searching for the voice that woke her. Looking around, she saw that she was the only person left in McGonagall's classroom—everyone else had long since left. Turning a bright red—knowing that she had just falling asleep in the middle of McGonagall's lesson—she began throwing her books into her bag and scrambled up from her desk.

"I'm sorry, Professor, I didn't mean to… I just… well, you see…"

"Enough Miss Weasley," Professor McGonagall said strictly and Ginny flinched slightly. "I don't want to hear any excuses. You were off to a fine start in this class, and I hate to see you fail. But you have to start getting more sleep at night. This is the second time that you've fallen asleep and I'm starting to think that _you_ think Transfiguration is boring."

"No!" Ginny said quickly. McGonagall's classroom was anything but boring. "No! Really, I love this class! I'm sorry, Professor. I… I just haven't been myself lately."

"I suggest you visit Madam Pomfrey sometime today," she said firmly, staring down at her from behind her glasses. "I do hope that you will at least get enough sleep before you come back here. Should this happen one more time, I'll be forced to give you a detention."

Ginny nodded, showing that she understood completely and dashed outside into the corridor. She had no idea what was wrong with her these days… she was so tired all the time… she would just fall asleep suddenly in one random place and then waking up somewhere else. Percy had been on her case all month about it… He'd even threatened to write home and tell their parents if she didn't improve and get to work. He couldn't have picked a worse threat. Her mom and dad would be so disappointed in her if they found out their only daughter was flunking out of school in only her first year!

Ginny sighed as she went to put up her things in her dormitory and get her diary. Right now she needed a friend. And she knew that Tom would understand her, maybe even offer more of his wonderful, comforting advice. Throwing her school things on her bed, she grabbed her diary out from under her pillow and went downstairs into the common room—her cheeks still a little red from her lecture from McGonagall. She chose an armchair in the corner of the room, hoping that no one would notice her as she pulled out her quill and ink.

She knew that she needed to start on her homework, but right now, she had to write to Tom or else he might get mad at her again. Tom didn't like it when she forgot to write to him, and sometimes he would say a lot of cold things when she did. But lately, he had wanted her to write in the diary almost constantly. She felt a deep pit of sadness beginning to grow inside her… maybe her secrets and fears just weren't interesting enough for him anymore?

She looked over by the roaring fireplace—suddenly feeling cold—and was surprised to see Harry, Ron, and Hermione sitting at a spare table pouring over their homework. She watched Hermione say something to Harry, who smiled back at her before he wrote something on a spare piece of parchment. The smile that Harry had given to Hermione caused a pang of jealousy to wash over Ginny. She shook her head hard an looked back down to the blank page of her diary before she decided to start writing.

_Oh, Tom! I've had yet another bad day!_

**You've been saying that very often, Ginny. Please tell me what's wrong this time?**

_First of all, I fell asleep in Transfiguration… again. McGonagall threatened to give me a detention if it happens one more time. But I've been having nightmares every night and they're keeping me up! how am I supposed to catch up on sleep like this? Why am I having these nightmares? I mean, I had a nightmare once in awhile at home… but never like this! I can't even remember what they're about! All I remember is that they really scare me! How do I make them stop, Tom?_

**You're just tired, Ginny. I'm sure that they will go away with enough time.**

_I just wish I could remember them, and then maybe they wouldn't be so bad._

**Now, is that Percy still bothering you? Or is he finally leaving you alone?**

Ginny frowned at that. She didn't like the fact that Tom just decided to change the subject like that. Especially, since he knew that she was worried. She decided that maybe he didn't want her dwelling on it any longer so, sighing, she dabbed her quill back in her inkpot and wrote: _Oh, no, he's more annoying as ever, Tom! He's so noisy… oh, wait! _She suddenly had a horrible thought._ What if he ever came looking through my stuff? What if he or someone else ever finds you? Can other people write in you and see all the things I've written?_

**Don't worry, Ginny. **Tom wrote back.** Though I can't stop them from writing, I have the choice of not writing back or not. And you can rest assure that I would never tell anyone** **what you written in me. But all you have to do is keep me safe with you all the time. It's the best way to make sure that no one else would ever find me.**

_That's a relief. I can't imagine what would happen if anyone… especially if it was one of my brothers… ever found you and read what I wrote! I could never show my face in public ever again._

**Don't worry, Ginny. Your secrets are safe with me. **

_Thank you, Tom. I'm so glad. Also I wanted to tell you… oh, no! I've got to go! Percy's coming here!_

Ginny quickly closed the book just as Percy walked over. Knowing her noisy brother, he would demand to see what she was writing. But for some reason he was looking very grumpy—more than usual and carrying a small bottle in one hand—was looking determined as he stopped right in front of her. Ginny was willing to bet anything, yes, even her diary, that she wasn't going to like this.

"Ginny," Percy said forced the bottle into her hands, "I want you to take this, and I'm not going to leave until you do."

Ginny looked from the bottle to Percy and back again. "What is with you? What is this?"

"It's the Pepper-Up potion that you've been refusing to take. Now, I am not going to say this again. You are going to take this, and I'm going to make you do—if not I will force it down your throat," he answered in a very commanding tone.

Ginny's jaw dropped in outrage. There was no way she was going to take that stuff, especially in the middle of the common room where everyone would be watching her… and especially with Harry who had suddenly looked up to Percy's loud and carrying voice.

"No. I told you that I don't need that stuff, Percy. I'm fine, and last I checked, you weren't mom," Ginny replied coldly.

"You are going to take it," Percy ordered forcefully. "Or I will force you."

"No," Ginny said, her voice getting a bit louder with her temper, and her diary behind her back. She wasn't going to let him bully her this time. Especially, when there wasn't anything wrong with her.

"Come on Ginny," Percy said. "You've been acting like a complete zombie lately. Something's wrong and I'm sure that you'll think me someday."

"I'm fine," Ginny said through clenched teeth. Fred and George, who loved it whenever Percy was angry and yelling, walked over with identical grins on their faces.

"Now, now," Fred said brightly. "What do we have here?"

"What could've brought this lovely family moment up?" George asked brightly.

"Ginny's just about to take some Pepper-Up potion," Percy told them with certainly.

"Excellent!" George beamed. "I love that stuff… not the taste, but the effect! Come on Gin, it'll make steam come out of your ears and your head looks like it's caught fire!"

Fred called over the heads of the other students, "Colin! You want to take a picture?" At those words the other Gryffindors started giggling and peering over each other's heads to see what happens.

Ginny instantly turned beat red as she looked around at everyone's stares; and was horrified that Colin was getting out of his camera and looking eager.

"Colin Creevey, you put that thing away! I don't want my picture taken! And I am not going to take that stuff either, Percy!" Ginny yelled very forcefully, hoping that everyone would back off and just leave her alone.

"You take it or I'm definitely writing to mother and father about this!" he threatened. "And while I'm at it, I'll tell them all about how your grades are dropping like flies," Percy growled very softly so only she could hear him. Ginny's eyes involuntarily went over to where Ron, Harry and Hermione were. All three of them were staring straight at her. She'd never been so embarrassed in her life. She swore that she would get back at Percy for this.

"Do it Ginny, or I swear I'll write to mum and dad and tell them what a brat you're acting," Percy hissed. "It's your own fault for not taking it earlier when I told you, Ginny. If you only did what I asked back then, then we could've avoided all this." Ginny bit her lip and glared at him with the most loathing she could conjure. She then grabbed the bottle from him, gripping it so hard that she nearly broke the vial as she pulled out the cork and drained with resentment, nearly choking as it trickled down her throat, making her eyes water. And to her dread, she could feel smoke beginning to pour out of her ears as she feared. As Percy smirked triumphantly, Fred and George began laughing hysterically, joined by the other Gryffindors in the common room.

Ginny was so upset and mad that her hands shook as she gathered up her books, ignoring everyone as she ran upstairs to start crying again.

*The next day*

Today was Halloween, and the wonderful smells of the feast for this evening was already filling the air with the scent of pumpkins and ginger. With everyone talking about the feast, no one bothered her about the day before with the Pepper-up potion. Feeling better than she had in a long time, she thought that this could be a good chance to try and talk to Harry this time… and to see if he had been kind enough not to have laughed at her like everyone else did.

But just before the feast, Ginny felt as if she had ripped out half of her hair when she had tried to drag a brush through the tangled mess. She wanted to look her best tonight… but still causal so that no one would suspect anything when she summoned up all her courage to talk to Harry.

'_There,'_ she decided at last, looking at herself in the mirror and admiring her handiwork. Her hair had been washed and combed, tied up in a simple braid that made her look older and more mature. She was in her favorite robes… though she frowned sadly at how worn and faded they looked compared to everyone else's.

It had taken her even longer to get ready because of that dumb detention she had been stuck doing for Filch. He had made her clean out all the toilets on the second floor and she only finished 20 minutes ago. She had to take a quick shower and scrubbed herself until her arms were raw and her hair was still damp. Luckily, it was easy to hide thanks to her braid. She promised herself that she would get back at Filch for this.

As Ginny decided that she was decent, she went downstairs and entered the Great Hall for the feast. She gasped in amazement as her eyes were immediately drawn to the enormous pumpkins that had become the jack-o-lanterns. Their cheerful and slightly ghoulish faces stared down at them all and Ginny couldn't stop herself from smiling at them all. It was just like she had imagined it would be like while she celebrated Halloween back at the Burrow—secretly wishing that she could see it as well.

Still smiling, she sat near Fred and George at the Gryffindor table—thankful that Percy was nowhere near her. She enjoyed watching the live bats fly around the hall, and _really_ loved watching the troupe of dancing skeletons performing tricks for them all. (The best part was when one of them took off his head and began reciting a scene from some famous Muggle play.)

But right as she finished with her first helpings, and was pouring herself another goblet of pumpkin juice—she noticed that someone was missing. Worried, she turned to a boy—Neville his name was—and asked him, "Hey, do you know where Ha… I mean, Ron is? He's not here, and I don't think he's ever missed a feast before."

"Oh, he went with Harry to Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday Party," he answered. "Never been to one of those. But it sounds really depressing if you ask me."

Ginny nodded at that, but couldn't hide the disappointment that was welling up inside her. She had been hoping to see Harry, but of course that seemed too much to hope for. But she also had to agree with Neville that a Deathday party sounded depressing… but before she could finish her thoughts, Neville suddenly said, "I think they might be back for desserts though. I don't think they were planning on staying long."

Cheering up slightly, she was about to help herself to some mash potatoes… that is until her brothers ruined everything again.

Fred was giving her a very sly smile and asked, while waggling his eyebrows, "Why are you so interested all of a sudden? Were you looking forward to seeing a certain _special_ someone tonight?"

"Oh, is that why you're dressed so nicely?" George added as he poked her teasingly. "I wondered… who is it?"

"I am not!" she began hotly, but she knew that they didn't believe her. "Is it so much to ask for to want to look nice for the feast? And I was just wondering where Ron was. He never misses a feast so it's not like him to skip out…"

But they just started laughing at her reddening face and she decided not to stay for desert. Was it too much to ask for her brothers to stop teasing her? Why were they like this? She was too upset to notice that she was no longer hungry. She stood up and walked away, noting noticing how the other students were enjoying their cakes, ice cream, and pies.

"Where are you going Ginny?" Percy asked as she walked passed, determined not to look at him. "Don't tell me you're still sick."

Ginny didn't even bother answering him as she walked out and headed straight up to the common room. It was empty now, so she could have some peace and quiet for a little while as she wrote to Tom. She pulled her diary from her pocket and got right to work as soon as she got into an armchair. Ginny wrote furiously in the diary, not even pausing for a response from Tom as she told him all about how big gits her brothers were. She rambled on and on, pouring her heart into the pages.

**Oh, Ginny… **Tom wrote sadly.

_I just had to have seven brothers! Not one or two… SEVEN! I mean, I love Bill and Charlie… but do I really need Percy, Fred, George, and Ron making fun of me or humiliating me in front of Harry and the entire Gryffindor House? And if Percy wasn't so bloody nosy all the time, this wouldn't have happened. He made me take Pepper-up potion in front of everyone TOM! Steam was coming out of my ears and everyone was laughing._

**You poor thing. I remember taking Pepper-up potion when I came here. I hated it. They all laughed at me too. **

_Oh, I'm so glad you understand, Tom. The worst part was that Harry was there too! I don't know if he was laughing or not… I hope not. It's hard enough for me to talk in front of him, but I can't even look at him anymore! I'm so mad! __I give up Tom! Why can't things ever work out for me? I'm so tired of not having any friends to really confide in, except for you of course. But I don't understand what's wrong with me! I used to be able to laugh most of Fred and George's teasing off because it didn't bother me. But now all of a sudden it does! A__nd not only that, did I forget to tell you that Filch made me clean out the toilets today… oh, it's that stupid cat's that gave me detention and…_

She went on like this for a while until she stopped to rest her cramping hand. She had hoped that telling Tom everything that was bothering her would make her feel better… but instead… she felt worse. It was as if there was a shard of ice side her, freezing her insides and causing a huge cloud of depression to hang over her head. As she waited to see what Tom had to say to all this… something happened.

She felt the power of sleep calling to her aching body and her eyes immediately drooped. Everything around her began to spin… and before she could grasp at what was happening, she was asleep.

*Dream*

_She began to have another strange dream. She could feel her body… which no longer ached or felt sore… getting up from the armchair and sticking the diary back into her pocket. But she no longer had any control over it. It was as if she had become a puppet and the puppeteer was making her leave the warmth of the chair and walk to the portrait hole. She drifted in a constant state of sleep and waking… sometimes she was aware of seeing light and shadows around her as she walked… once or twice she even thought she recognized a statue or a suit of armor… but really, everything was just vague blur. _

_She dreamt of simply walking down a dark corridor—completely empty—and entering an even darker room and the sounds of distant crying. She also vaguely felt the 'splash' 'splash' of water and could barely make out a reflection of herself staring back at her. Was she looking in a mirror or window? _

_She suddenly began talking to her reflection, but it sounded more like a strange hissing sound to her than English. Oh, this __**must**__ be a dream if she was able to speak another language and she relaxed, knowing that she would wake up soon. But before she could try to return herself to the waking world, she heard the words coming out of her mouth… suddenly as clear to her as if she was speaking English. '__I am the Heir of Slytherin! I have returned to finish what I had started. Come forth now great creature of the greatest House! Come now! Kill!'_

_The words scared Ginny, she fought to wake up from this nightmare… she could hear the sounds of something huge… something enormous slithering from below her… she tried to scream… but everything around her was becoming consumed in a haze of red… the sounds of hissing… and the drip… drip of water falling…_

And with a start, Ginny woke up—realizing the dripping sound was of her sweet running off her in a flood. She sat up from the floor and looked around. For the first ten seconds, she couldn't figure out where she was. Well, aside from the fact that she was alone and lost. Once she calmed down slightly, she realized that she was in a deserted corridor not too far from the entrance to Gryffindor tower.

She couldn't… remember. What was she doing out here? She could faintly recall that she had fallen asleep in the common room after writing to Tom… but how did she end up out here? Still dazed and scared, she tried to get up—only to discover that she had almost no energy left. She fell back onto the floor painfully—finding it a struggle to raise her head.

By the dim light shining through the windows, Ginny only knew that it was late in the evening, or early in the morning. She half-expected Mrs. Norris or Filch to come slinking around the corner at any moment, ready to find her and put her in detention again. Not looking forward to the idea of cleaning the toilets again, she forced her weak body from the ground, having to hold onto the wall for support, and struggled her way back to the Fat Lady.

But she just noticed that her feet and the bottom of her robes were soaked. As she looked down at her soggy sneakers, she also saw something in the dim light on her front. Putting a hand there, she realized that she was covered in partially dried paint, dark red, by the looks of it. And when in shimmered in the light, it almost looked like blood.

Terrified, the thought of being caught here like this, she felt energy return to her and was able to stumble her way down the corridor quickly. Doing her best not to think of the paint on her, although she could feel it had seeped through her cloak onto her clothes; she swiftly made her way to the portrait hole.

"Wattlebird," she said breathlessly to the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Out at such ridiculous times," she grunted in her sleep and swung open. Gasping for breath, Ginny crept quietly into the, thankfully, empty common room.

Now feeling a little safer, she darted up the stairs to the girls' dorm. Careful not to wake any of the other girls, she grabbed her pajamas and went off to a small bathroom to wash the paint off her body. She almost tore off her clothes, trying not to look at the disgusting paint—if it really was paint—and cleaned herself up. She had to have been sleepwalking again… but she was now really scared. What was happening to her?

Once she had changed, she tried to rinse the paint from her robes, but to no avail. The paint continued to shimmer no matter how much she scrubbed.

Trying hard not to throw up, she crept back into her dorm room again and quietly hid her wet and stained clothes in her trunk before slipped back into her bed. But too scared to sleep… so instead she stared up at the roof of her bed for hours, clutching her blanket like a lifeline… praying that the sun would rise soon.

*The next morning* 

Ginny didn't relax until she could see the first few rays of light peeking through the dorm window. Relief washed over her as she got up and decided that she would forget about the whole thing last night. But as she reached into her trunk… the first thing she saw was the paint-stained clothes and she felt herself freeze at the sight of them.

She slapped herself hard and quickly seized another robe and shut the trunk before she vomited. Once she changed, she turned to go downstairs only to see her diary lying on the floor. Confused, but relieved, she picked it up and hugged it close to her, thinking that she must've dropped it there when she climbed into bed.

On her way down though, something happened. When she reached the common room, she could hear a few students talking excitedly to each other about an 'attack'. What were they talking about?

Wondering what on earth this was about, she asked the first person she saw, Neville. "Neville?" she called.

He turned to look at her and smiled. "Morning, Ginny!"

"Hey, Neville," she said as she took the empty chair next to him. "What's this about an attack? Can you tell me what everyone's talking about?"

Neville blinked in confusion. "You don't know? Where have you been? It happened just after the feast remember?"

"I… I left early last night, remember?" she said reminding him. "But that's history. What's going on? Was someone attacked?"

"I thought everyone knew by now," Neville said looking at her incredulously. "It's Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris! She was found last night! She's petrified!"

Ginny gasped. "What? How? What happened?"

Neville said, "Well, that's the thing. No one knows what's going on. She was found, looking like she was stuffed or something you know? She was tied to a torch down on the second floor… near the girls' toilets? And guess what? Harry Potter was found there too. Everyone was coming back upstairs from the feast when they found him, your brother Ron and Hermione standing there. Everyone else thinks he did it and the other professors took them for questioning."

Ginny's stomach lurched at the thought of Harry getting in trouble. He'd been in enough trouble this term already. Her hands began to shake and quickly folded them in her lap as she tried to hide it.

"He didn't really do it did he?" Ginny asked nervously. "I mean, did they catch who did it?"

"No to both questions," Neville said. "At least, I don't think that. He says he didn't do it and I believe him. He's always been so nice… and after what happened last year, I can't believe that he would do something like. He would never threaten anyone by writing stuff on the walls."

"Stuff on the walls?" Ginny repeated in confusion.

"Oh, that's right, you don't know about that either," Neville said quickly. "See, there was some words painted on the wall. Someone threatening the rest of the school…"

Ginny felt lightheaded, and had to grip the edge of the table to keep herself from fainting. "Paint?" she repeated softly. "There was paint on the wall? Are you telling me the truth?"

"You can go see for yourself. I think it's still there," he said, but before he could finish speaking, she jumped off and ran to the second floor.

**(MERRY CHRISTMAS! HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED YOUR PRESENT! Next chapter, Ginny finds something very special from Colin…:D)**


	12. The picture

**Chapter 11: The picture**

*Second Floor*

Ginny bolted up the stairs to the second floor, the insides of her stomach churning. Grateful, that she saw no trace of Filch when she rounded the corner into the right corridor. The only light came from the torches lit every feel feet, but still making it difficult to see. But as she drew nearer to the wall, her stomach gave another awful lurch as she read the shimmering words on the wall…

**THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED  
>ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWARE<strong>

Ginny's knees buckled and she felt that she was about to be sick. Staring around her, her hand over her mouth, she ran to the nearby bathroom, and, disregarding the out-of-order sign, she flung the door opened.

She barely made it to the nearest stall in time.

And even after she threw-up everything that was in her stomach, she stayed there, leaning over the toilet, not knowing what to think… merely listening to the ghost crying a few stalls away, and felt hot sweat pouring down her head. Finally, after a few minutes she dragged herself out of the stall and over to the sinks to clean herself. Frustrated that the cold tap did work, she splashed some hot water onto her face, trying to make sense of what was happening to her. She glanced up and stared at herself in the mirror. She saw her pale expression… her face looked thinner and there were dark circles underneath her eyes that were making her look like a corpse.

She shivered as she began to wash her face until her cheeks were red again.

She was so intent on washing that she almost failed to noticed the strangest feeling of déjà vu, of being in this bathroom before. Once she was satisfied, she poked her head out the bathroom door, making sure that no one, especially Filch, was coming down the corridor, and sprinted back to Gryffindor tower—not even bothering to go to breakfast.

*Upstairs*

Ginny went straight back up to her dorm, and looked under her quilt to where the little black book was. She went back downstairs, took a chair in a secluded corner of the common room, and began writing so fast to Tom that her handwriting was barely legible.

_Dear Tom, I can't remember what I did on the night of Halloween, but a cat was attacked and I've got paint all down my front!_

Tom's concerned words appeared. **What happened Ginny? Are you alright?**

_Well, that's the thing! I don't know what happened! I woke up last night out in the hallway covered with paint! I can't remember anything, _she thought back to the night before as hard as she could before she wrote, _I think… I think I had a dream. It's horrible, really. But I can't remember what it was about! And now Mrs. Norris was attacked! She was found on the second floor and–_

**Attacked? What d'you mean, attacked? What happened?**

_Mrs. Norris… she was…_

**Killed?**

_No, no! _Ginny wrote quickly._ That's what everyone thought at first, but I heard that she's been…_ Though she was sitting in a squashy armchair close to the blazing fire, she felt a shiver roll down her spine. _They all said that she was petrified! Like she was turned to stone!_

**What? **His shock came through clearly in his handwriting. **But how is that possible? She isn't dead?**

_I don't know! I feel so awful. It was Filch's cat, and he's just heartbroken. _

**But they don't know how it happened or who did it?**

_No, nobody knows! And they have to wait for the Mandrakes in the greenhouse to mature before they can revive her, and that's not until the end of the year! _Ginny looked up to see the few people in the common room were still talking about that attack and she quickly wrote,_ 'Everyone here is saying that she was found hanging from a torch last night, and someone had written on the wall underneath, "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir, Beware"! Nobody knows what it means, but everyone's talking about it!_

**I see… and tell me… are you afraid that you have something to do with the attack?**

_Of course not! I couldn't have. Oh Tom, I just don't know anymore! I could have just as well rubbed up against the wall while I was sleepwalking or… or something! See, I woke up in the hallway last night, but I can't remember anything that happened before that! But what if I saw who did it while I was sleepwalking? Even worse, what if I did have something to do with it, and someone found out? Tom I don't know what to do…!_

**Ginny, Ginny, Ginny, **Tom wrote quickly. **Just relax. I am certain that a girl like you would never have done that if given the choice. You said that you were sleepwalking? Well, it is most likely that you might've come in contact with the wall while you were wondering around. No one's saying that you were seen around there right? It's possible that you wandered around the corridors after everything happened. But I wouldn't be too careful if I were you. After all, you don't remember if the attacker saw you or not. I think that it would be for the best if you don't mention it to anyone. At least until you know for sure what happened. But for now, tell me more about the attack. Are you sure that you don't remember anything at all? ****Didn't you go to the feast with everyone else?**

_Yes, but I went up early. I talked to you about it remember? And I could have sworn I went to sleep, Tom! And then the dreams! They were so strange! It was like I was… running through a dark, slimy tunnel or… I don't know… sort of sliding down it…?_

**But dreams don't mean anything, Ginny. I've told you about that before don't you recall?**

_I know, but the next thing I know is that I was sleeping in a hallway outside the portrait hole, and there was all this red paint all over my robes! I've tried to cleaning it off, but I couldn't._ Ginny thought back to the paint stained robe in her trunk upstairs and she shivered again._ And then this morning, Colin told me about how that cat was attacked. What is this Chamber of Secrets? It sounds familiar… maybe Bill mentioned it to me… do you know what it's talking about?_

**No, I'm afraid I've never heard of such a chamber.**

_Oh, Tom—here's the worst part! It was Harry who was found with Mrs. Norris!__ They caught him, Ron and Hermione at the scene of the attack, and I'm afraid they could be in serious trouble! Especially Harry, since it was Filch's cat who was attacked, and Filch has it in for Harry as it is!_

**You don't say? Do you think he could have done it?**

_Tom, how can you possibly say something like that? _Ginny wrote aghast. Hadn't Tom been listening to her? _Harry would never, ever do something like that! Even to that horrid cat! He's much too kind for that! _

**I'm sorry if I said anything that upset you, Ginny. I don't know what came over me. Please, forget I said it.**

_That's all right, Tom. _She wrote, but still a little angry at him. _It's hard to stay mad at you. But, Tom what am I going to do? First there were the feathers… and now the paint and…_

**Like I said, **Tom wrote.** There's no way that you could do this without knowing about it. You must've been sleepwalking and somehow bumped into the wall when the paint was still fresh and gotten some paint on your robes.**

_Do you really think so?_ Ginny almost whimpered, her heart pounding so hard that it hurt.

**I don't know what other explanation there could be do you?**

Ginny thought that over before she let out a long sigh. No… there was no way that she could've done it… there was no other explanation. And if Tom couldn't think of another reason, then she couldn't have had anything to do with it. _Oh, thank you, Tom. But still, I wish that I could tell someone else about this._

**No, Ginny. It's not safe. What if the one who did attack that cat thinks that you saw something? You could end up as the next victim.**

Ginny had gone very cold and the quill slipped from her fingers. She snatched it back up and wrote, _well, what do I do?_

**You'll be fine, Ginny.** Tom wrote reassuringly. **But I'm afraid that you can't do anything else at the moment. Not unless I tell you that it's a good idea. OK?**

_Are you sure about this Tom?_

**I know so Ginny. Please, I'm asking you to trust me on this. I would never let anything happen to you.**

And so Ginny decided not to do anything. But that didn't help make her feel better… she felt as though she was carrying around a chunk of ice inside her… but before she could say any of this to Tom, someone came over and said:

"Hey Ginny, whatcha doing?"

Ginny snapped the diary shut, and looked up at her brother, startled. Ron, was standing over her with his usual smirk on his face.

Instantly, she looked around, put at ease at the sight of Harry and Hermione who were gathering up their books and stuffing them into their bags. She looked to Ron again. "Nothing," she lied. "Why do you ask?"

"You're not looking so good," he answered as he looked over her pale features.

"It's nothing," Ginny lied again. "But I heard about last night. Are you all right? I mean I heard you got into trouble…" she said quickly, trying to stay as calm as possible.

"We're fine Ginny. There's no need to worry, honestly! You should hear yourself, you're starting to sound like Mum!" Ron said, laughing.

Ginny gave him an annoyed look. "What were you doing there anyways? Where were you last night?" she asked, pretending to play dumb.

Ron sighed and quickly explained to her about going to Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday Party, and how they found Mrs. Norris when they were heading back up for what was left of the feast. But as he talked, Ginny couldn't help but notice that Ron looked slightly nervous himself, as though she wasn't the only one who was keeping secrets.

She opened her mouth, not having the slightest clue to what she was about to tell him when all of a sudden…

"Ron?" Hermione's voice drifted towards them. "We're going to be late for Professor Sprout!"

"Coming!" Ron groaned before he turned back to her. "Cya, Gin. Oh, and if you see Percy," he rolled his eyes in disgust, "Tell him that we're not here!"

She nodded as she watched the three of them gather their books and head out the portrait hole… and a small part of her was wishing that she was going with them.

*Later*

Ginny was looking out the window, just before she had to go down to the dungeons for class. If she squinted hard enough, she could see the Quidditch pitch from here.

She smiled a little as she imagined herself swooping and gliding gracefully on a broom. She knew that her mother didn't like the idea of her playing such a rough game, but Ginny had secretly gotten into the habit of breaking into the broom shed when no one was watching and teach herself how to fly. She could so vividly fantasize about herself one day wearing the same scarlet and gold uniforms that most of her brothers had all once worn. Someday she would have the bright, red Quaffle and scoring a goal right underneath the Slytherin teams' noses.

But she knew that it was just a dream. She could never make the team… and even if she could, the Gryffindors already had a brilliant team playing. They didn't need anyone else. She snapped out of her imagination when she heard the bell ringing. She snatched up her cauldron and books as she hurried off to the Potion's classroom.

She walked into the cold Dungeons that hosted the Potions class and shivered as she down next to Colin. With his usual smile gone—just like the rest of her housemates whenever they were forced to sit in front of the one teacher that hated anyone who wasn't wearing green.

Ginny had been warned that Snape hated all Gryffindors with a passion and made life misery for them. She had thought that had only been Fred and George's jokes to scare her… but she had found out very quickly how wrong she was. He came into the room, and the door shut tightly behind him. She gulped…

Class is in session.

*Lunch*

Ginny wrote to Tom underneath the table during lunch._ Tom, Professor Snape singled me out again today. So I mixed the potion too long and it started to dissolve my cauldron! He didn't have to yell at me! When I tried to explain that it was accident, he took off 30 points for that! Oh Tom, I feel so terrible about myself…_

**Ginny, you mustn't feel too bad. He is clearly just too bitter and I'm sure your classmates are not angry at you for losing the points. I think that they all hate him more than they do you at the moment. Now, please try to relax. You would do better to focus on class. Let me worry about these attacks. ****Now about this Snape… tell me, is Harry Potter afraid of him?**

_Of course not! Harry isn't afraid of him! Come on, he's faced You-Know-Who twice. Why would he be afraid of his teachers? I told you all about how Harry came face-to-face with him again last year didn't I? Oh, of course Ron and Hermione helped him!_

**Ah, yes. I vaguely recall you telling me something about that. You-Know-Who was trying to steal a stone or something last year?**

_The Sorcerer's Stone! Ron told me that it was supposed to make you immortal, but Harry stopped You-Know-Who from getting it and…_

They talked for a little longer about the stone before the bell rang for the next class. She pushed her plate of uneaten shepherd's pie away from her and went to Transfiguration early. That was when she heard the shouting.

"You take that back!"

Ginny lifted her head, distracted to see that Colin Creevey was standing in front of a Hufflepuff boy who was about three times his size. His mousy face was pink as he began yelling, "You take that _back!"_

"Look, I don't have to take nothing back!"

"He's not! He's not! He's not the Heir of Slytherin!" Colin was roaring now, the volume incredible coming from someone so small. The entire class was staring at him, and Ginny almost hit herself in the forehead when she realized what was happening.

"He was at the scene of the crime!" the Hufflepuff shouted. "Why else would he be there if he had nothing to do with it?"

"He's in Gryffindor," Colin squeaked, "How can he be heir of Slytherin when he's in Gryffindor?"

There was a moment of silence, as the two boys glared at each other, or rather the Hufflepuff sneered down at Colin. Just as Ginny was wondering if Colin would survive if the other boy punched him, Professor McGonagall rushed in and took charge.

"What is going on here?" she demanded, turning a sharp glare to them both.

"Professor, he-" Colin began quickly just as the other boy spoke.

"It's the truth!"

"He was saying that Harry Potter attacked that cat!"

"He did! Why else would he have…?"

"QUIET!" Professor McGonagall called loudly, drowning out their excuses. "Enough! Both of you! What happened to that cat was terrible, but not incurable. She'll be back before the end of the year! For someone to do that, it would've taken a lot more than a second year student to do that to her. Now I don't want to hear anymore about it! Both of you! Inside now or I start deducting points!"

"But Professor…!"

"Mister Creevey, one more word and its detention! Now inside all of you!"

Colin and the Hufflepuff both dragged their feet into the classroom slowly—Colin's face still bright red from shouting. Ginny poked him in the back as she took a seat behind him.

"What?" he hissed, turning on her.

"What were you doing?" she hissed back. "Why don't you think a little? What did you think you were doing with all that screaming?"

"I was defending him!" Colin growled back as the rest of the class shuffled in and began taking their seats. "Which was a lot more than what you did!"

"You only made it worse," Ginny hissed exasperated.

"What d'you mean, I made it worse? I was standing up for him!" Colin snapped back.

"You made a scene what you did! Nobody would have paid attention to that idiot Hufflepuff if you hadn't taken him seriously! He was only saying it to make you mad." It was something she'd learned from Fred and George. Get angry and deny everything, and people started asking questions. But if you shrug it off, all you do is prove them wrong.

"_Mister Creevey!_ _Miss Weasley!_ One more word out of either of you and it will mean detention!" Professor McGonagall was scowling darkly. They both shut up immediately and started listening to what she had to say about how to transfigure a rat into a teacup. But Ginny's mood didn't improve as she watched the rest the class made impressed noises. _'But then again,'_ she thought to herself grudgingly. At the beginning of the year, she would've done the same as Colin did…

But then when she saw how it really embarrassed Harry to be followed around and idolized like some war hero, she backed off. Really, didn't Colin see that he didn't want to give out signed photos… or—or follow him around… Ok, Ginny acknowledged to herself that she acted like that too, but at least she wasn't _obvious._

At least she hoped not.

At least she wasn't as obvious as Colin!

She continued to be lost in her thoughts for the rest of the class, but then something happened as she was gathering up her bag. "Ginny?"

She looked up to see that it had been Colin who whispered. "What?" she asked coldly.

His expression was sheepish. "I-I reckon maybe you're right. I know that it properly wasn't a good idea to yell back like that. But…" he shook his head and just shouldn't held out his hand for her to shake. "What do ya say? Still friends?"

Her dark mood vanished almost instantly. "All-all right," she said hesitantly as she shook it.

He grinned at her. "Great! Want to go eat? I'm starving!"

She smiled back. "All right," she repeated. It was nice to be able to talk so someone who had a voice. She dearly loved Tom, but it was one thing to have to read what a person said instead of hearing the concern and friendliness in their voices. Colin talked to her the whole way up to the Great Hall… by the time they sat down, she was wondering if she didn't make a mistake… he hadn't let her talk once.

But…

As he started talking about the kind of pictures he took, she couldn't help but smiling along. It was nice to have another friend.

*A couple weeks later*

The weather had turned from gloomy to stormy for the last week. And no today, it was the first Quidditch match of the season, Slytherin vs. Gryffindor. Ginny had joined Ron and Hermione in the bleachers; and they were all right at the edge of the stands, with Colin in tow. Ginny couldn't stop herself from grinning. She had been looking forward to this all year!

"I'm glad to see that you're looking better today," Hermione said, looking closely at Ginny as she opened up a large umbrella as the rain started to fall. "You've been looking really pale lately, Ginny."

Hermione was right about that. It was the first time that she had felt even halfway back to normal since Halloween. Nonetheless, she was grateful to Hermione for wanting to include her and couldn't stop smiling as she looked eagerly down at the field.

But for her, the best part of the day was just this morning. She had finally mustered up enough courage to wish Harry luck in the match when he left the breakfast table. He looked a little surprise but thanked her and even gave her a smile. It might not seem like much to some, but it had meant the world to Ginny, making her feel better than any potion ever could.

"Typical that it rains today," Ron's voice said grumpily as he squinted up at the sky.

"Harry can play in rain," Hermione reminded him. "They've been practicing at all sorts of mad times, you know that."

"That's true," Ron nodded. "They hadn't been properly dry for weeks."

Colin was jumping up and down in his seat next to her, his camera clutch to his chest and looking around in excitement. Ginny grinned—looking at the field, impatient for the game to start. She screamed and jumped up and down when the players marched out onto the field. Colin's camera clicked madly beside her.

Watching them take off and fly was amazing! She knew that Harry was good… but watching him and her brothers throw apples to each other at the Burrow was one thing… seeing them in a real Quidditch match was another. She continued to watch Harry, with wonder as he dove and swooped like a falcon. She had never seen anyone look more natural in the air as he did.

But suddenly, a Bludger came hurtling out of nowhere and whooshed by, narrowly missing Harry's head.

"That was close!" she heard Ron yell next to her. They both cheered on George who appeared and knocked the Bludger away towards a random Slytherin, but to her complete bewilderment, the Bludger turned around back towards Harry, barely missing his head again. Ginny watched with her teeth gritted, as he tried to outrun the Bludger at the other end of the pitch. But she knew instantly, that something had gone terribly wrong.

"What's going on?" she screamed over the noise and rain. "Why's that Bludger going after Harry?"

"Aren't they supposed to do that?" she heard Colin shout next to her.

"No! They're supposed to attack as many people as they can! Not follow someone around like that!" Ginny cringed as it narrowly missed Harry again. Fred and George were trying to keep it off him, but the Bludger was getting closer every time it came near them.

She was relieved for a moment when Fred hit the Bludger away before it had caught up to Harry again. Meanwhile, the Slytherins were free to score. Now that Fred and George were fighting to protect Harry—the Chasers Angelina, Katie and Alicia were left to deal with the second Bludger on their own. So now, to add insult to injury, the scoreboard now read Slytherin 60, Gryffindor 0.

Ginny's jaw clenched even harder as it began to rain even harder, making the visibility even worse for both her and the team. But she could make out Harry, and could see that he was constantly wiping the rain away from his glasses, in a vain attempt to be able to see.

"What's happening?" she heard Ron yell to Hermione who were looking just as scared as she did. While Hermione shrugged helplessly, Ginny sighed again in relief as George finally signaled their team captain to call for a timeout.

"Why is that Bludger after Harry in the first place?" Hermione asked Ron as they watched the Gryffindor team land and then huddle up.

"It was Malfoy!" Ron yelled, and hammered his fist into the rail in front of them. "I bet you anything that it was Malfoy! It's not enough that he bought his way onto the team, but he has to cheat too!"

Ginny peered once again out onto the pitch, shielding her eyes from the rain with her hands. After several minutes she was able to make out that the captain, Fred, George, and Harry all seemed to be arguing. She hoped, ferociously, that her brothers were being told to keep that ruddy Bludger away from him.

Wood then signaled to Madam Hooch after a few more minutes, letting her know that they were ready to keep playing. She watched as Harry mounted his broom and zoomed back out onto the pitch, looking more determined than ever, while Fred and George kept throwing nasty looks at the captain, who could only shake his head in helplessness. Then they kicked off again, and to her horror, her brothers zoomed off in the opposite direction from Harry. She lost her head completely, leaning out over the rail to screech, "_What d'you think you're doing? Get back there, you idiots! Get back there!"_

"GINNY?" Ron yelled. "WHAT ARE YOU…?"

"Are they mad?" Ginny shouted angrily, causing Ron and Hermione to turn around."They can't let him back out onto the pitch alone! That mad Bludger will kill him!"

She was in half a mind to jump the railing and run screaming at Fred and George when she was suddenly pulled by the neck of her robe. She spun around to see Ron scowling at her. "Watch it! Mum'd have our heads if you fell off!"

She stomped on his foot and turned back around to see Harry spinning to avoid the Bludger while Ron jumped around in pain. She wasn't even focused on the game anymore, for maybe the first time in her life she wanted the game to hurry up and end. Harry began zigzagging about like a madman, desperately trying to outrun the mad ball. Ginny could hear the crowd around her laughing at him.

"Ron, Ginny's right, that Bludger will kill him if we don't figure out a way to stop this game quickly," Hermione cried hysterically. "We have to do something!"

Not even thinking about it, at those words, Ginny ran down the bleachers as quickly as she could, searching for a teacher, any teacher, who could help protect Harry before his head was cracked open. She stood at the end of the stairs and looked up into the crowd—she searched for an adult, but she could barely see what was in front of her anymore thanks to the ever-pouring rain. Growling in frustration, she scanned the pitch again for Harry. She looked up in time to see that he had stopped for a moment, just meters away from Malfoy.

At that moment, Ron and Hermione, who suddenly appeared behind her, both yelled, "Harry, move!"

But it was too late. The Bludger had hit him at last, smashing into his arm and almost knocking him from his broom. He reeled, but somehow managed to stay airborne. But now he was only hanging onto it with one hand, the other just hanging there. Ginny knew, with a horrible sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, that it was broken.

"Get to the ground, Harry, get to the ground!" she shrieked. The longer he was up there, the more chance the Bludger would have to go after him again, and then a broken arm would be the least of his worries. Ginny wiped the rain from her face as she watched Harry dangle from his broom, arm hanging uselessly at his side. "HARRY! GET TO THE GROUND!"

Almost as if he'd heard her, she saw him somehow right himself on his broom and hunch over into a steep dive… and dive towards Malfoy. She was only half-aware of the way the screams and cheers from her fellow Gryffindors growing louder and louder.

"Not _that_ way!" she screamed.

"Yeah, knock him off, Harry!" Ron howled delightedly. "Take him out while you can!"

Furious at her brother, Ginny stomped on his foot again.

"OWWWWWW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR THIS TIME?" he bellowed at her.

"He's hurt!" she cried, pointing a shaking hand at Harry.

"Ron! He's got the Snitch!" Hermione squealed, gripping her face as she watched. "Look, he's got the Snitch! And—NO!"

Harry was only hanging on with his legs now and heading straight for the ground.

"What on earth is he doing?"Ginny yelled as wondered as she forced her way through the crowd to the pitch, nearly running over someone underneath a large lilac umbrella.

"Pardon me, Miss Weasley," said Professor Lockhart, a gleaming smile on his face as she nearly knocked him over. "I have more than enough pictures for you and your friend. Now if you would…?"

Ginny gave him an irritated look—outraged that he was thinking about signing autographs now of all times. "I don't care!" she shrieked at him. "I'm trying to get down to the field!"

She pushed right passed him just as she watched with terror as Harry hit the ground and rolled off of his broomstick.

"Harry–" she said softly, as she watched him pass out on the muddy lawn. His hand was clutched around a small gleam of gold.

Madam Hooch blew her whistle signaling that the game was over. "Gryffindor wins!" Lee Jordon bellowed into the microphone. "Potter has caught the Snitch! What a stellar comeback!" The crowd erupted in a roar of cheers and whistles—but Ginny was completely oblivious to everything else around her.

She ran as fast as her legs could carry her to the other end of the pitch, leaving a befuddled Lockhart in her dust. At that moment, she no longer cared if anyone saw her, or if they found out how she felt. All she wanted now was to help him—if nothing else, to be there next to him. And even through the frigid rain, warm tears that were beginning to fall down her face by the time she finally reached him.

She knelt down at his side. "Harry—please be all right—please," she said trying to gently shake him awake.

"Ginny! Look out!" called out a random voice.

She looked up to see what the heck they were talking about. That's when she saw the rouged Bludger. She watched with terror as the black ball headed right towards her—falling like a meteor. But before she could move, before she could even take a breath, a great gust of wind blew over her and Harry, and she heard a familiar _'whack' _of a club against the ball away.

She spun around to see one of her brothers—it was impossible to tell which twin it was with all this mud and rain around them, but they were now desperately wrestling the ball back into the trunk. That's when she heard a slight moan from beneath her. Harry was beginning to stir. Sighing with relief, Ginny brushed the wet hair from his forehead.

"Harry? Harry?" she whispered. "Can you hear me?"

He groaned slightly—he was coming around—he should be awake in a few minutes.

"Ginny, are you ok?" Ron yelled at her, falling to his knees on Harry's other side.

"I'm fine!" she said, wiping the rain and tears from her face—thankful for all the water so that no one could see she was crying. "I didn't see it coming!"

"Is he all right?" asked Hermione who just appeared next to them.

"Yes, I think so," Ginny said with wince when she looked at his twisted arm. "But his arm…"

Ron was trying to wake him up, and Hermione was looking around for help just as they were surrounded by a huge crowd. Ginny turned desperately and called, "HELP! Someone! Anybody!"

At that moment, she wished she didn't say anything because Lockhart stampeded over; smiling brightly at them all as if there wasn't anything wrong. He shoved Ron aside to bend over Harry, and her brother fell, face-first, into the mud. He glared fiercely at Lockhart when he got back up, but the idiot didn't seem to notice.

"I can take care of him in no time, Miss Weasley," Lockhart said, forcing her and Hermione aside as well. "Not to worry! Not to worry! It's a spell that I've used countless times before."

Hermione's eyes lit up and she asked, "Oh, Professor Lockhart! Can you really help him?"

"But of course I can," he said, brandishing his most winning smile as he wiped out his wand. "Now if you will please stand aside for a moment."

Ginny tried to push her way back to Harry, but swarms of people were now all around him, pushing her further away. Just her luck… when she was now out of his sights, Harry had finally opened his eyes.

She couldn't see him anymore but was able to hear him groan. "Oh, no, not _you_-"

"Doesn't know what he's saying!" Lockhart called out to the rest of them. "Not to worry, Harry, I'm about to fix your arm-"

She was able to squeeze her way through a part of fifth years, and was able to see Harry trying to get up. "No, I'll keep it like this, thanks…"

_Click, click, click _went Colin's camera from just in front of her. Harry was strong enough to shout out, "I don't want a photo of this, Colin!"

But Colin lifted his camera again, and Ginny took the chance to snatch it away from him. "Stop that! He told you not to!" she said to him angrily.

"Lie back, Harry," Lockhart was saying as the crowd around them thickened. "It's a simple charm I've used countless times."

"Why can't I just go to the hospital wing?" she heard Harry said through gritted teeth. Ginny thought this was the best choice, but she wasn't sure that Lockhart could even hear him anymore. He completely ignored the team captain, who was saying the same thing. Instead, he flourished his wand. "Stand back-"

"No-don't-" Harry began, but it was too late. There was a sudden flash of light, and Harry's arm went limp. Almost as if it was being deflated… Ginny clapped her hands to her mouth when she realized what happened. There was a round of gasps from the others.

Harry's bones weren't broken anymore. But that's the least of his problems…

To stunned to move, Colin grabbed his chance and grabbed his camera back from her and started taking more pictures.

"Colin, why can't you just leave him alone for once!" she shouted angrily, but her shouts, were quickly ignored and forgotten by the horde of people now surrounding Harry on the pitch.

*Evening*

Hours later, Ginny was still fuming. "Honestly! What did he think he was doing? He could've left it to Madam Pomfrey! But did he? Nooooo! He wanted to try and show off—and then look at what happens!"

She was sitting in the Gryffindor common room, among the remains of the victory party. Most of the House had finally gone up to bed after Professor McGonagall came in and told them all off.

Colin, who was sitting across from her, was going through his stack of pictures and was grinning from ear to ear. "Wow, Ginny! You should look at these photos! I've even started making copies! Oh, I can't wait to send these home! My brother Dennis is going to freak out!"

Ginny glared at him, "Why were you taking all those pictures anyway? Harry told you to stop! I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want someone to take a picture of me if I was in the mud with a broken arm!"

"Sorry," Colin said looking up, looking embarrassed. "But I couldn't help it! I just wanted to…"

"Whatever," Ginny said annoyed, as she leaned forward on her arms. "Just don't send any of _those_ pictures home. It would freak your folks out if they saw the kind of injuries that kids get here."

"Oh, good idea," Colin said thinking that over. "I have to be careful or Mum might be too worried about me coming back! But I'm sure Harry'll be ok by morning! At least that's what I heard your brothers say. And besides… it sure made Lockhart look like a joke."

Ginny couldn't help but giggle at that. "Him and his classes are nothing but a joke."

Colin laughed too. "You should've seen McGonagall! She was so angry I thought she was going to turn him into a bug or something! I won't be surprised if he's not at breakfast tomorrow."

"And then Hermione was saying that it was an _honest mistake! _Sure, if you're blind and can't tell which end of the wand your holding!" Ginny laughed. She quickly glanced behind her, making sure that Percy wasn't there. She knew that she would've gotten told off again if he caught her here insulting teachers.

Colin hopped to his feet. "Hey, I'm going to go and do some exploring. You want to come along?"

"Colin! It's the middle of the night!" Ginny reminded him. "We aren't even supposed to be out this late."

"So? Come on, it'll be fun," he said grinning and tugged her arm. "Maybe we'll be able to sneak in and see Harry. Sure you don't want to come?"

Ginny hesitated, but shook her head. "No, I don't think so."

"You sure?" he asked disappointed.

Ginny hesitated for another minute. She was greatly tempted… but… "Yes, I'm sure. But maybe next time?"

"All right," he said brightly and let go of her arm. "But you don't know what you're missing." He picked up a bunch of grapes and headed straight to the portrait hole.

"What about your camera?" she called after him, mostly joking.

"Oh, right!" He said as he ran back to the table and scooped it up. "Almost forgot! I want to take some pictures of this place at night!"

Ginny couldn't help it, she had to laugh. "It's the middle of the night, Colin! You can't see anything in the dark!"

"Never know," he said cheerily, but as he put it around his neck a stack of pictures fell out of his pocket. "Oh, no…" he bent down quickly to pick them up.

Ginny leaned down to look at them and saw the black and white pictures of the Hogwarts castle, the hallways, the lake, Hagrid's hut, some of the classrooms, the great hall… even them in class!

But most of them were pictures of Harry on his broom during training practices. "I really should get an album for these," Colin said with a smile. "Hey, I'll show them to you in the morning, ok? I think that they came out really well! I'm going to send some home to mum and dad and Dennis to see! I wish I could see the looks on their faces!"

Still smiling, he turned and ducked out the portrait hole.

Shaking her head, Ginny got up, about to head up to bed… that was when something caught her eye. It was a picture that Colin missed.

Curious, she picked it up and turned it over. It was of Harry during one of their better Quidditch practices. She watched as the photographic Harry was swooping above the field like a falcon… Ginny looked up, but remembered that Colin had already left. Thinking that she would return it to him tomorrow, she tucked it into her pocket as she went up to bed. Though she was tired, she decided to stay up a little longer and write to Tom for a few minutes. She'd already told him all about the match, about the Bludger, about Harry's broken and then boneless arm.

_Tom, I hope I don't sound too childish here… but I don't understand how they could have so easily pushed me aside like that! It's not fair! I mean, even Colin had better luck at getting through the crowd to him. All I wanted was to be there for him, and I couldn't even do that!" _Ginny wrote sadly. _And I really hope I don't sound too mean here, Tom, but Colin… _

_Why does he keep going after Harry like that? He's a Muggleborn! He didn't even know about Harry until he came here to Hogwarts. Oh, now I'm sounding mean again… I don't mean to, but he just sees him as the great hero that defeated You-know-who, just like everyone else. Why can't he just leave him be? Harry doesn't want to be famous. I see how Harry cringes every time Colin comes near him and asks for a picture. I mean, anyone with eyes can see that he doesn't want that. Why is it that I feel that nobody else sees Harry like I do? I admit that I used to see Harry as the one who defeated You-Know-Who, but now that I've got to meet him, I see that he's so much more than that. He's so sweet and polite and… oh, Tom. _

**Ginny, I know it's not always easy to understand, but some people need someone to look up to, like Harry. Colin Creevey may not see everything that you are able to see in Harry Potter, but he can see qualities in him that he lacks in himself and wants to be like him. Why else would he idolize him so much?** Tom responded.

Ginny huffed in frustration and wrote:_ Yes Tom, I suppose you're right—as always. But I guess I just wish that Harry would notice me for who I am too. I mean, I want to tell him that I was the first one at his side after he hit the ground… but I can't. But at least I know I always have you to turn to and listen to me when I really need it. No one's ever understood me like you do, Tom. Oh, before I forget, __Colin went to visit him just now. I thought about going too, but I don't know—it's so late, and he might be asleep by now._

**Sure you're not too embarrassed? **Tom teased her.

She blushed. _Ok, you got me. A little—well, what I mean that is… if I ever get the chance to talk to him I'd like it to be on my own and not with people about. Especially not Colin around. Don't get me wrong. I'm sorry for the things I said about him, and I know he's really nice and all, but he does love to talk and I'll never be able to say anything with him there. _She laughed to herself._Well, it's been a long day. I think I'll turn in early tonight. Thanks again for listening to me Tom._

**"****No, thank you Ginny. Goodnight, and ****sweet dreams.**

She put her quill down, yawned, and was about to stick the diary under her pillow when she remembered the picture. For some reason, she looked around to make sure the other girls were asleep before she pulled it out and looked at it. She watched Harry ride the wind for a few moments before she remembered where she was. She quickly blew out her candle, and curled up under her covers. But not before she safely tucked the picture of Harry into a random page of the diary.

Suddenly overcome with the soothing warmth that came from talking to Tom and always made her feel better. She slipped the diary underneath her pillow and fell into another deep sleep.

And almost right away, she dreamt.

_*The Dream*_

_Still blanketed in the warmth that seemed to blur her dreams, she dreamed of walking down another dark corridor—her bare feet barely hitting the floor. She was looking for something—no, not something—she was looking for someone… _

_What was happening this time?_

_Darkness was rushing past her, and she felt slime on her feet… she was speaking gibberish again… but this time, for some reason she understood every word she said:_

_**"Speak to me, Greatest of the Hogwarts Four."**_

_It was her voice… the words were coming out of her mouth… but she wasn't the one speaking… how was that possible?_

_Suddenly she heard a new voice, hissing alongside her ear. '__Blood…'_

_Everything faded away for a moment before she realized that she was back in the corridor again… the voice now speaking louder and more menacing than ever before._

'_Let me tear… rip… kill once more…'_

_And then, while she headed up a familiar hallway and then a flight of stairs… she saw that there was someone halfway up the steps… pausing and turning around as if he sensed that he was being watched._

'_Blood… blood… blood…' the voice chanted again._

_Ginny tried to scream out a warning to the person on the stairs but couldn't make a sound. She could make out his silhouette now and recognized the camera he was carrying. She screamed at Colin to hurry up and run! That something was after blood—but her words again came out as gabble. There was a sudden flash of light, and Colin vanished from her sight._

_Terrified, Ginny ran back down the stairs, searching for her friend and feeling herself spinning… She felt herself begin to fade away into the darkness, felt as if she was being taken away… _

_Darkness again, the feeling of slime and rushing wind rushing passed her before she felt herself falling…_

_Falling…_

_Falling…_

_*End of Dream*_

Ginny woke with a start.

Scared, she looked around to see that she was safe in the common room, lying on one of the sofas, with her diary open on her lap—the picture had slipped out and was lying on the floor next to her. Taking several deep breaths, sweat dripping down her face, she looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost 3:00 a.m.

Thankful that she had not wandered too far in her sleep this time, she scooped up the picture and the diary as she made her way upstairs to her dormitory and crawled back into bed. The disturbing dream was still fresh in her mind though, and it was a long while before she felt safe enough to fall back asleep again.

But like always, the dream was forgotten by the time she opened her eyes.

**(Another chapter done at last! I really like the idea that she had a picture of the guy she likes tucked safely away in her diary don't you? Next chapter: Ginny finds out that Colin was attacks. Find out what happens soon!)**


	13. A Guilty Heart

**Chapter 12: A Guilty Heart**

The morning sun was shining in through the all the windows, illuminating the aged wood of the floorboards with the patterns of the simple ironwork on the glass. Ginny turned over in her warm bed… what a strange dream… she frowned to herself, trying to remember what it was about, but it just slipped away like running water. She groaned a little as she forced herself to sit up. She must've slept soundlessly all night, but she didn't feel rested. She felt as if she'd been running around in the dark all night. She rubbed her sore feet, and tried to remember what she did last night…

She gave up after a few minutes, deciding that now that she was awake, she should get up. She had wanted to find Colin and see what happened when he went searching the castle last night. Or maybe even find Ron and Hermione and ask them how Harry was doing even though she was still mad at them for yesterday. So that she wouldn't have to wake the other girls, she quietly pulled on her robes and pulled her hair back in a careless ponytail. She opened the door slowly so that it wouldn't creak and tiptoed downstairs.

She was surprised when she saw that Hermione already up and sitting at a table in a quiet corner of the common room and reading a book—she must obviously be waiting for Ron.

"Good morning, Ginny," Hermione said to her brightly as she came near. Ginny leaned over her shoulder to see what Hermione was reading… only to find that Hermione was trying to stuff the book away into her bag quickly—as if it was something shameful. However Ginny was able to make out the title from the large and moldy-looking book that she was reading from… Moste Potente Potions. What on earth could Hermione possibly want from such a horrid sounding book?

"Morning," Ginny said flatly, trying to sound cheerful, but still a little angry. But before she could ask what she was doing with the book, Hermione noted Ginny's mood and tried a different approach. "I just wanted to tell you that I thought that it was incredible what you did yesterday you know."

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked in surprise.

"I mean trying running out there to help Harry like that," she answered with a smile.

"Oh–it—it was nothing," was the only think that Ginny could think to say, too embarrassed to think of anything else.

"Honestly Ginny," Hermione said, sounding so much like Mum for an instant that it almost made Ginny sigh with homesickness. "You do know that could be lying next to Harry in the hospital wing right now as well if that Bludger had hit you."

Ginny forced herself not to blush as she pushed the lovely thought from her mind. She still wanted to be mad, but it was very difficult to do that with Hermione…

"I know Hermione," she said. "But…" she opened her mouth to tell her how much it hurt her when she and Ron forgot all about her in the crowd. How she couldn't fight them, and they pushed her away from them and they didn't care.

But she couldn't. Tom had warned her not to show too much emotion to others—if any at all. So Ginny took a deep breath and turned her back on her to hide her face, "I mean it. It's nothing. I'm just glad that everyone's ok. He…" she trailed off, unable to finish. Harry just looked helpless, it must've been very painful and he was in so much danger… but no one would help him. He could've been killed. She bit her lower lip, all her feelings threatening to spill over.

"I'm glad to. Harry's all right now," Hermione said, patting her on the shoulder and once Ginny was sure that her face showed no emotion, she turned back and asked, "Really? You sure?" Ginny asked making sure she heard right.

"Yes, of course," Hermione said smiling. "It wasn't as bad as it looked…"

Ginny tried hard not to snort. That was easy for _her_ to say. She wasn't the one who had to walk around with a rubber glove attached to her body. That idiot Lockhart had removed all the bones in Harry's arm for crying out loud! If that happened to her, Ginny knew that she would be pretty upset.

"But I'm sure that he'll be out of the hospital wing after breakfast at the latest," Hermione said quickly as she finished putting her stuff away.

"Good," Ginny said hopefully, "Listen…" she turned her attention back to the book that Hermione had just put away. "About that book…?"

"Hermione!" Ginny jumped and spun around to see Ron coming towards them, trying to stifle a yawn. "Is everything all right?" he asked sleepily.

"Yes, we're fine Ron," Hermione said, pulling the back over her should and started pushing them all towards the portrait hole as a distraction. "Are you ready for breakfast?"

"Starved!" he said eagerly.

Ginny chuckled. Ron was always hungry. Whenever he wasn't sleeping, he was eating.

On their way to the Great Hall, Ron was telling Ginny of his theory that it was Malfoy who was behind the mad Bludger. It did make some sense to Ginny—she saw how much those two hated each other, but Malfoy was so confident in those brooms… why did he feel that it was worth the risk to tamper with the Bludger as well? Everyone would surely suspect the Slytherins wouldn't they? But before she could tell Ron this, Hermione suddenly stopped behind them in front of the staffroom door.

"Hermione, what are you doing?" Ron asked, turning around, but almost instantly, Hermione raised her finger to her lips, to silence him, and with the other hand, motioning them to come closer to the door. "Look," she mouthed at them.

Ginny and Ron looked at each other in confusion before they just shrugged and leaned in closer to see what Hermione was talking about. Ginny then realized that she could hear voices coming from inside the staff room. But there was an edge to the voices somehow—fearful and worried— between Professors McGonagall and Flitwick.

As she leaned in closer to the door, she heard the voices more clearly.

"Oh dear, please don't tell me it's another attack?" Flitwick said in a gasp that sounded more like a squeak.

"Yes, I found him myself on the stairs near the hospital wing just last night. The poor boy was petrified just like that cat on Halloween. It's nothing lasting thank goodness, but I'm afraid that we won't be able to revive him until the potion is finished. Albus and I agree he was most likely on his way to visit Potter. What did it, we have no idea! The inside of his camera was completely melted…"

Ginny froze, her heart feeling as though it was about to burst out of her chest.

"Who was it?" Flitwick asked shrilly.

Hermione and Ron looked at each other with wide eyes, while Ginny just stood there motionless, unable to breathe. Hoping against hope, but also knowing the name that Professor McGonagall's was about to give…

"It was young Colin Creevey."

*Breakfast*

"Poor Colin. I can't believe that someone was attacked again so soon," Hermione said, pushing her porridge around her bowl—looking a little to queasy to eat. "And a student this time."

Ron stabbed moodily at his eggs and glared at Malfoy who was sitting at the Slytherin House table. "Look at him," he growled with disgust. "Pretending like he didn't even know what he did last night. D'you know what I think? He was in such a sore loser after the Quidditch match, he took it out on Colin!"

But Ginny couldn't answer. She felt as frozen as Colin probably was right now, not to mention the tremendous guilt that had washed over her at the very idea that she had something to do with it. It killed her inside to think that she could have done this to him, though she couldn't explain how she could've. Her strange dream last night… and the realization that she had awoken up in the Common room at around 3 in the morning last night where the only things that she knew about last night after she went up to bed. And she couldn't even remember that properly!

Hermione however pushed her food away from her and turned to Ron. "Well Ron, we should get along to the library right about now don't you think?"

"The Library?" Ron demanded in horror. "How on earth could you possibly think of homework at a time like–OW!"

Hermione had apparently kicked him under the table and his eyes began to water from pain. "Yes, _Ronald_… we need to _go_ to the _library_. But first, I have to stop at the_ bathroom."_

"Oh, okay," Ron hissed in confusion before Hermione groaned in frustration.

Ginny finally spoke. "Aren't you going to visit Harry this morning?" she asked innocently, hoping that they would tell her what they were talking about.

"No, we really have to get to the library," Ron said, rubbing his leg beneath the table. "Why don't you visit him? You can tell him all about yesterday."

'_What's to tell?'_ she thought bitterly as she watched them get up. _'But then again, I could possibly ask him what he knows about last night.'_

"All right," she told them as they left. Apparently they didn't even hear her as they quickly walked out the hall.

Ginny sighed as she looked down at her uneaten food—to sick to eat either. She had no idea what she was going to say to him. Although she had made some pathetic attempts, she had never actually been able to say even a full sentence to him. But she had to know what had really happened last night; she didn't know how much longer she could go before this guilt killed her. She would just have to make herself talk to him.

Unable to sit there any longer, she had pushed her uneaten bowl of food away from her and went up to the fourth floor.

"Excuse me Madame Pomfrey, can I see Harry?" she asked as she poked her head through the doorway. Madame Pomfrey got up quickly trying to block the door. "I am sorry Miss Weasley, but Mr. Potter had left just a few minutes ago. I think he should be on his way back to Gryffindor Tower."

"Oh," Ginny said, trying not to sound too disappointed.

But at that moment, all thoughts of talking to Harry were washed away as she saw the rigid silhouette of a body lying behind some curtains on the bed nearest to the door. She stared at it wide eyed, knowing full well who it was… and knowing that she had something to do with this. Her knees began to shake and waves of nausea flowed over her.

Madame Pomfrey must've noticed how pale her face was and looked at her with concern. But before that she could say or do anything, Ginny turned and ran. She ran as hard as she could through the halls, outside through the grounds, and finally stopped at the lake where she lost whatever was in her stomach.

Warm tears streaked her face as she splashed the water onto her face and she wiped her mouth. She felt that need to scream. _'What have I done?'_ she said over and over to herself. _'How could I have done this?'_

She cried a while longer before she was able to calm down, walking along the banks of the lake—feeling as though everything inside her was frozen. Before long, she found herself walking towards the hut that rested right beside the Forbidden Forest. Needing someone to talk to… she walked quickly to the door and knocked—half wanting someone to answer/half hoping that no one was there.

But Hagrid did open his door. "Hullo Ginny," he said pleasantly, surprised to see her.

"Hey, Hagrid," she said to him, hardly noticing how miserable her own voice sounded. But Hagrid did and he frowned in concern.

"Yeh alright there, Ginny?" he asked. "Ya don't sound like yehself."

"I'm fine," she said, trying to project as much energy as she could muster to try and sound like nothing was wrong. "I'm just… what I mean to say is… I haven't been myself lately. If you're busy then perhaps I could…" she was already hoping that he would tell her yes so that she could leave.

"Oh, don't worry about it," he said brightly to her. "Would yeh like to come in?"

"Are you sure I'm not interrupting anything?" Ginny asked, suddenly struggling to remember why she wanted to be here in the first place.

"'Course not," he said, a smile warming up his bearded face. "Just 'bout to make some tea."

He showed her inside and she began to tell him what happened. He waved his large hand down just as she mentioned Colin's name. "Already know. Heard this morning."

"Oh," Ginny said grimly. "Do you know who's doing this? Do the teachers…?"

"'Fraid not," he said regretfully and Ginny noticed how sad his eyes had become—as if he was remembering something painful.

"How long have you've been here at Hogwarts anyway, Hagrid?" she asked, as Hagrid sat down, handing her tea.

Hagrid sat back a moment and thought back as he stroked his beard, "I'd say almost 'bout fifty years or so."

"Wow," she said as she took a sip. "That's a long time. Don't you ever wish that you could leave?"

He waved his hand at her and chuckled. "'Corse not. I mean, Hogwarts is me home. Could never leave it even if I wanted ter. Best years of me life."

Ginny was glad that he seemed to cheer up a little, but decided not to ask him as he sighed deeply, gazing at the overwhelming sadness in his dark eyes. "No where ter go anyway. I was expelled in me third year."

Ginny blinked in surprise. She vaguely remember hearing one of her brothers tell her about that, but before Ginny could say anything, Hagrid winced, as if he said something he shouldn't have said. "It's a long story. Sorry, but don't wish to share it righ' now if yeh don't mind," he said with a nervous tone to his voice.

Looking for a good diversion, he finally said. "Blimey, look at the time! I'm sorry Ginny, but I gotta tend to the chickens. Somethin' has been killin' all the roosters and I want ter make sure nothin' else happens."

Ginny almost choked as tea slopped down her front.

"The roosters again?" she coughed, looking horrified.

"Yes, I can't figure out how, but it's happenin' again," he said, handing her a napkin. "Now, I mus' get ter work. But we'll talk a bit later if ya want?"

"Yes, you're right. I should go," Ginny said, beginning to tremble as she got up from the table.

Ginny walked shakily back to the castle… everything that had happened in the last 24 hours was running through her mind. She had seen Colin nearly every day since she arrived here, had been sitting next to him in her Charms the whole time. How could she let this to happen? And she had forgotten about those roosters! Was she responsible for that as well? That would explain the feathers…?

The only support she could think to find was to write in the diary to Tom. He would know what to do.

_Dear Tom, something awful has happened now. There's been another attack. __But Tom! IT WAS A STUDENT that got attacked this time!__ This time it was Colin Creevey. I know I must've been sleepwalking again… and I'm afraid that I might have something to do with this._

**Colin Creevey? Isn't he the Muggle-born who keeps taking pictures of Harry Potter?**

_Yes! And I saw Colin last night. I must've been the last person to see him before… well anyway, he was going upstairs to see Harry in the hospital wing, so somewhere along the way, whatever attacked Mrs. Norris attacked HIM!_

**That is unexpected.**

_Yes, and oh, I feel so awful about it all, Tom! We were actually starting to become friends, and now he's just lying there in the hospital wing like a statue._

**But Ginny, you said yourself that he was really annoying. Don't you think that maybe you're better off…?**

Ginny was shocked that Tom could say something like that and wrote quickly, _He wasn't __that__ bad. I exaggerated a bit. Ok, so he talked a lot and was a bit annoying, but that's no reason for someone to attack him! Oh, Tom! I can't remember what I did last night and I'm terrified that I might've been the one who attacked him and…_

**Ginny, just because you couldn't remember what you did last night does not mean that you had anything to do with the attack on Colin. I mean how could you? You would never do something so terrible, **Tom consoled.

_But Tom, I had a dream last night. I can't remember it too well… but I think it was about Colin. If nothing else, I might've been sleepwalking and followed him and might have seen it happen! I just can't shake the feeling that I've done something… that I had something to do with it. But I'm not sure… I can't remember…_

**Do you honestly believe that you would have intentionally harmed him? That you have single-handedly opened the Chamber of Secrets that one else has ever been able to find and unleashed some monster on the school to attack Muggleborns? Really Ginny. Do use your common sense. **

'_Tom has a point,'_ Ginny thought, some of her doubts leaving her. '_How could I possibly be the Heir of Slytherin? But…'_ she shook her head. No, if Tom was so sure that she had nothing to do with it then she couldn't have.

_You're right Tom. _She wrote with relief. _I would never want to harm anyone. But why did it have to be my friend?_

**You can do better than that, Ginny, you know you can. After all, he was just the son of a milkman, and you said yourself how annoying he was. Really, what advantage would it have given you? You have to be careful about who you make friends with. I'll tell you something I learned long ago. You have to do everything on your own. You don't need people there to hold you back from reaching your goals. Do you understand Ginny?**

_I-suppose you're right_, _Tom,_ Ginny wrote in small handwriting. Her other hand had crept to her mouth, and she began to chew her nails. She wasn't sure of what to think. She didn't like what Tom was saying this time—but at the same time he seemed to be making some sense.

_But it would have been nice to have a friend, you know, someone to talk to. Poor Colin! He even had his camera with him and I heard that it was all melted inside. What could have done that?_

**Something very old and dangerous. It would have taken a great and powerful wizard to control it.**

_So someone is doing this on purpose?_ She asked terrified.

**Why else?**

_But Tom, how could anyone be so evil? To attack students like this? Basically turning them to stone? Oh, Tom, and to think that I almost went with him! With Colin I mean! He asked if I wanted to go, remember? I could have been Petrified too! And I think I've been hearing some people think that it's even Harry doing it…_

**You said that Harry was in the hospital at the time right? With all the bones gone from his arm? How could he do anything in that condition? It could not have been him. ****And you're a pure-blood. I am certain that you would have been safe.**

_How do you know?_

**If it really is the Heir of Slytherin, then he'll only be after the Muggle-borns won't he? Because that's who Slytherin wanted to eliminate from the school if I remember the story correctly. And you told me that you're pure.**

Ginny relaxed slightly, glad to know that she and her brothers were all safe at the very least.

_Yes, but-Tom, why is this happening? Everyone's so scared. I never thought Hogwarts was going to be like this. I thought it was going to be some of the best years of my life here. Bill, Charlie, Percy, the twins and Ron—even my parents all said that it's amazing. But it's just awful! All these years of waiting to come here, and I suddenly want nothing but to go home until they solve this whole 'Chamber of Secrets' business._

**I'm afraid that it won't be so simple, Ginny. But… with these dreams you keep having, I've been fearing for your safety more than ever now. So I think that now that I need to tell you the truth. I will tell you everything I know about the Chamber of Secrets and my history with it.**

Ginny was so taken aback that her quill slipped from her hand. It's true that Tom didn't like to talk about himself as much as she did. But what did he know about Chamber? If he knew anything to help her solve it… then maybe they could prevent anyone else from being attacked. Knowing that this would be important, so she picked up her quill and wrote down.

_What is it Tom?_

**It was fifty years ago when the Chamber was last opened, which led to several people becoming petrified just like now… before it finally ended… with the killing a young girl. **

Ginny gasped in terror, horrified at what she had just learned; and almost too scared to read the next few sentences.

**It's only going to be a matter of time before another one is killed. It was a student who opened the Chamber of Secrets and released the monster. I know this because it was **_**I**_** who caught him.**

**(Sorry for taking so long. But my computer was infected and I had to wait **_**forever**_** to get it fixed. Next Chapter: Ginny goes to the Dueling Club and another attack. Find out what happens soon!)**


	14. The Past Always Repeats

**Chapter 13: The Past Always Repeats**

Ginny stared at the page even long after the words had disappeared. Finally, she snapped out of her daze and quickly wrote back, _Oh Tom, you really are amazing! Who was it? How did you capture them? _Ginny wrote quickly, anxious to know more about what happened fifty years ago.

**It was really quite by accident did I ever find this out. It was in my sixth year when there were several attacks. **Tom wrote back to her quickly, as if he were just as anxious to tell her what had happened as she was to hear it.

**A few Muggle-borns were attacked and petrified.**

_Just like now?_ Ginny couldn't help but interrupt.

**Just like now. **Tom repeated in his elegant hand-writing.** Anyway. They were cured by the end of that year, but you have no idea just how much fear was inspired during those few months. No one knew who would be attacked next… until at long last, a girl had finally been killed by the monster.**

_Oh, Tom. _Ginny wrote sadly._ I'm so sorry…_

**It's alright, Ginny. **Tom wrote back.** But thank you for your kind words. You see, it was right after the killing of this girl that compelled me to try and solve this mystery before anyone else got hurt. I had just finished a conversation with headmaster Dippet and he had told me that they were going to close the school if nothing was done. I knew then that I had to do something. That night, when I was heading back to my dorm, I noticed another student walking about in the halls on his own. As a school Prefect, naturally I followed him to make sure that he made it back to his dorm safely. But he did not go back to his common room like I thought he would. You see, instead he made his way to the dungeons… to where he was keeping the monster. When I confronted him, he swore it was only a pet, but I knew better. I turned him in to the headmaster, and he was immediately expelled. The attacks stopped right after that and they all warned me to keep my mouth shut about what happened here.**

Ginny could hardly stand it anymore. She had to know. _Oh, Tom! That's amazing! You're amazing! But who was it Tom? Who would release that monster onto everyone?_

**His name is Rubeus Hagrid.**

Ginny's eyes widened in disbelief, and her jaw dropped open in shock. It couldn't be… Hagrid? But he had always seemed so kind to her and all the students here… but then… she remembered the stories that Ron had told her about Hagrid and his obsession with large and dangerous monsters… it wouldn't surprise her that Hagrid might've had a creature that could attack other kids. But she could never have imagined that he would want to intentionally hurt anyone with it. He had been so nice to her… and she knew that Ron, Hermione, and Harry thought highly of him.

_But Tom,_ she wrote slowly._ Hagrid is still here at Hogwarts. He's the gamekeeper! How could they let him stay here if he really did kill that girl?_

**Like I said Ginny, Hagrid was expelled. His wand was broken and he was forbidden to ever learn magic. But at the time, he was also an orphan with nowhere else to go. He was far too young to be sent to Azkaban Prison. And so, Dumbledore stood up for him and convinced headmaster Dippet to let him stay and be trained as the gamekeeper. I think that they did that so that they could keep an eye on him.**

_But now with all the new attacks, why haven't they taken him to Azkaban yet?_ Ginny wrote fearfully. _Wouldn't he have been the first suspect? They would've questioned him by now and get him to stop if he was behind it. I don't see why he how he could do all this… besides, after fifty years, why would he be attacking everyone __now__?_

**I cannot answer any of those questions, Ginny. But you should be careful, especially if you believe that you have been a witness to the attacks,**Tom warned her.

A frightening thought struck Ginny's mind and she quickly wrote, _But Tom! What if he IS the one who's attacking the students again? Oh no! Tom, what if he finds out that I know about him?_

**That is why I fear for your safety more than ever, Ginny. ****That is why I am telling you this. To put you on your guard. If anyone else found out… you could be put into serious danger. ****You must stay away from him until he has been caught, Ginny. Hagrid is very dangerous so you must keep quiet about what you know until he is taken away for good this time.**

And so Ginny, lived in fear for the next couple weeks, as did most of the school. Everyone seemed to be waiting for someone else to become another victim of the monster. But as the weeks slowly passed, nothing at all seemed to be happening. No attacks, no other threatening messages on a wall, she wasn't even having any strange dreams or sleepwalking anymore. Not that she was complaining about that!

Before long it was snowing on the grounds and she was counting down the days to Christmas. She had found out that Ron and Hermione were also staying this year with her, Fred, George, Percy and… Harry

She blushed at the idea of having a Christmas with Harry this year and was freaking out on trying to figure out what to give him. She didn't have much money, so it had to be small…

_*Halfway through December*_

One day, she was curled up near the fire in Gryffindor tower and doing her homework… for once, not thinking of her brothers. For awhile, they've been trying to _cheer_ her up. Or in other words, Fred and George had been taking turns covering themselves with boils or fur and then jump out and scare her from behind corners, or statues. Of course, she never found it very funny and had been trying to stay as far from them as possible.

Just at that moment, a hideous face that was covered in green fur had popped up over the side of her chair and began roaring at her.

Ginny screamed so loudly that she fell out of her armchair and the entire common room became quiet as they all looked at her. "_Fred_!" she screamed at him and threw her potion's book at him.

As he started laughing, to her horror, Percy came storming over. He was bright red with fury, his glasses fogging up. "All right, that's it, both of you! No more of this stupid joke! This is the last time that I'm going to tell you both this! If you do this just once more, then I'm going to write and tell Mum-"

The Gryffindors were all in fits of laughter, some were even holding their stomachs as they choked on their own humor. Ginny grew red with humiliation. As she heard Percy yelling at her brothers—threatening to write and tell Mum that Ginny was having nightmares—she gathered up her things and fled up the stairs, leaving Percy and everyone behind her.

When she slammed her door tight, she felt more hot tears fell down her face. What was happening to her? She normally would just brush off her brother's stupid jokes… why was she like this?

A week before the end of term, Ginny had forced herself to come back downstairs; and to her surprise, she found a lot of commotion around a new notice on the board. Apparently, they were starting up a Dueling Club and the first meeting was tonight in the Great Hall after dinner.

She had spent the morning debating whether or not to go, but in the end she decided that it might come in handy sooner or later; especially with everything going on at this school. But before she made up her mind, she wrote to Tom and asked for his advice.

**Are people still talking about Harry and those attacks?** He asked curiously.

_A little. _Ginny confessed. _They still think that Harry is the one behind them. They think because Colin annoyed him with his camera at the Quidditch match, Harry went after him for revenge! As if that could ever happen! I mean, come on! He was in the infirmary regrowing all the bones in his right arm! How could he have done ANYTHING?_

**You don't have to persuade me! If you believe that Harry Potter hadn't done anything, then I believe you. Besides, it would take a lot more Dark Magic than what a mere second year would be capable of. But you know what people are like; they'll believe anything even without proof. They won't believe he didn't have anything to do with it until someone gives them some real evidence to show otherwise.**

_Well, that's stupid. _Ginny wrote indignantly. _And what about this Dueling Club? How is this supposed to make everyone feel better? Teaching them how to duel is just going to have them practice it in the halls._

**Think about it for a moment… the students are all afraid and are probably going stir-crazy with everything happening. I think that the teachers are doing this to help the students feel a little more at ease, and to get their minds off things as well as releasing any energy that they have bottled up.**

_Oh. I guess you're right. I didn't think of that._

**So, are you going?**

_I think I will. I mean, with all the Dark Arts going on here, it might come in handy someday. Besides, if I know how to duel, maybe I can get my brothers to stop teasing me._

**I hope you have fun. As soon as it's over, c****ome back and tell me everything.**

_I promise!_

So just after eight o'clock, Ginny tucked her diary safely under her pillow and came into the Great Hall to find most of the school already there, crowded around a large golden stage that had replaced the four tables that usually stood there. She worked her way through the crowd, trying to get as close to the stage as possible—and starting to feel something she hadn't felt since the day she arrived here. Excitement. Maybe this was a good idea after all.

In the end, she found herself near Fred and George—who were grinning and talking loudly to each other.

"Hey Ginny," George said, when he noticed here and make room in the crowd for her to stand next to them. "Good to see you come out of your dorm for once!"

"Yeah, where've ya been? We were beginning to think that you went home for Christmas a little early," said Fred, laughing at his own joke.

Ginny gave them an irritated look. Why can't they grow up and stop teasing her for once? At least there was so many people talking around them, they couldn't hear anything. "I might have to," she told them, and was a little surprise to hear how hoarse her voice sounded. "After all, with you two bugging me all the time, it would be a relief to get out of here."

"It's all in good fun, Ginnykins," Fred said, nudging her in the stomach. "You need to start re-growing your backbone!"

Ginny blushed, but turned her head to look up at the golden stage, where none other than Gilderoy Lockhart was waving his hand for attention. To her great surprise, Professor Snape was also standing up there next to him, and seemed to be barring his teeth at Lockhart.

Lockhart told them that he would be demonstrating the basic combative position with Snape and they would cast some disarming spells but that neither of them will be aiming to kill. But by the way Snape was glaring at him, Ginny wasn't too sure that Lockhart was going to walk away unscathed.

And she was right; by the time Lockhart had counted to three, Snape sent him flying… he was thrown backwards by a bright flash of red light. Some of the girls gasped, including Hermione, who Ginny had only realized, was directly opposite them on other side of the platform with Ron and Harry. The boys for one looked amused by Lockhart's fall. She had to agree with them. Lockhart didn't look like such a big shot then and she couldn't help but laugh at how stupid he looked.

"Oh, I hope he felt that," Fred howled with laughter. "No so pretty now, eh ladies?"

"No, wait!" George almost cried with happiness. "He's getting back up, the idiot! Oh, wouldn't it be great if they just finished each other off?"

Lockhart swayed a bit as he climbed back on the stage, but shook it off quickly. After he tried, unsuccessfully, to save face, he told everyone that he would now be pairing up people for practice dueling.

Ginny moved back behind Fred and George—she knew that she didn't know nearly enough magic to be able to duel herself. So she watched as Ron was paired with Seamus Finnagan, Hermione was paired with some dreadful-looking Slytherin girl whose name Ginny didn't know, and Harry was unfortunately partnered with Draco Malfoy. Oh, this isn't going to be good. She kept a close eye on those two as Fred and George piped up again.

"Snape paired Harry with Malfoy?" George demanded. "What? Is he trying to get them to kill each other?"

"Why are you worried?" Fred chortled. "Harry'll tear him apart! At least this way, we'll be able to get some payback for that Bludger."

"Oh, this is gonna be good!" they both grinned evilly and watched in excitement.

"Shhhhhh! I want to see this!" Ginny shushed them and watched. So focused on Harry and Malfoy, she didn't even hear them make fun of her.

Lockhart instructed them to face each other and bow like before. Each pair did, but Ginny couldn't keep her eyes off Harry and Malfoy, who barely nodded their own heads as they glared at each other.

Lockhart began to count to three, but on two, Malfoy struck at Harry with a spell, knocking him hard in the head.

'_Hey, that was dirty! Get him Harry!' _she cheered to herself as she bounced on the balls of her feet and watched Harry regain his balance and he struck back with what appeared to be a tickling charm, causing Malfoy to laugh so hard that he couldn't breathe. There were giant explosions around her—causing her to jump in surprise. When she looked back at the pair of them, Malfoy had aimed his wand back at Harry, this time causing Harry's legs to dance around uncontrollably.

At this point, Snape finally decided to take charge. He stepped forward and bellowed out, _"Finite Incantatem,"_ which stopped everyone. As the haze cleared, Ginny saw how much damage had been done. Lots of bloody noses, the smell of burned hair, and there was Ron pulling up a very charred-looking Seamus—apologizing for whatever he did. Out of the corner of her eye, Ginny saw that Hermione was in a headlock by the ugly Slytherin girl and she was starting to turn blue.

Harry had just noticed that as well and he leapt forward to heave the Slytherin off her; Ginny felt a stab of jealously as he helped Hermione to her feet.

She shook her head hard and looked back at the stage just as Lockhart yelled to them all how to block spells. Snape suggested Harry and Malfoy, since it looked as though they were one of the few who were unharmed. So Lockhart pulled Harry to the side, showing him how to hold his wand, but ended up dropping his own in the process. Snape had also pulled Malfoy aside, whispering suggestions that made an evil grin creep onto Malfoy's face that made Ginny uneasy. Now what was going to happen?

Lockhart slapped Harry on the back and called out cheerily, "Just do what I did, Harry!"

"What, drop my wand?" she heard Harry demand.

Ginny had to muffle her giggle. So far, she hadn't learned much from the Dueling Club except that you should keep a hold on your wand; though you couldn't say that it was boring. She looked to Harry and Malfoy, wondering what was going to happen now.

She swallowed hard as Harry faced off with his partner, and Ginny didn't like the calculating smirk on Malfoy's face one little bit.

Lockhart, beaming stupidly, counted off. "One-two-three-go!"

"_Serpensortia!_" Malfoy screamed out and with a bang, a gigantic black snake spurted from the end of Malfoy's wand and hit the floor with a heavy thud.

Ginny almost fell flat on her behind, and had to clamp her hands over her mouth to stop her from screaming. It was a monstrous, black snake—the largest snake she'd ever seen in her life. She watched as it lifted its head and hissed; its forked tongue darting in and out of its mouth as it turned its head towards Harry who seemed to have frozen.

Some of the girls backed away, screaming, but Harry simply stood there, staring the snake.

'_Harry, what are you doing? Get back!' _she thought in a panic.

"Don't move, Potter," Snape suddenly said, not even sounding concerned as he slowly walked towards it. "I'll get rid of it…"

Sure he would—but only after it bit Harry's _head_ off or—or attacked someone! Right there, Ginny's fury overcame her fear, and she glared at Snape who was smirking to himself.

"Allow me!" Lockhart shouted and charged forward. Unsurprisingly, the only thing that he had been able to do was make the snake even angrier than before. He caused the snake to fly into the air before it fell back hard; right in front of a dark-haired boy who she knew was a second year Hufflepuff.

Hissing wildly, the snake began to slither toward the boy. The snake rose the front half of its body up in the air, opening its mouth and hissing, displaying its fangs-

But before Ginny could scream, Harry darted forward, raising his wand. Ginny focused solely on Harry as he shouted, "Leave him alone!"

Ginny was too petrified to even cover her eyes. And, incredibly, it listened, turning away from the boy and relaxing to the floor, its shining eyes fixed on Harry.

Ginny almost applauded as she sighed with relief.

But she was the only one who did. There was a wave of gasps flew through the crowd, and students began to whisper, "Did you hear that?"

"What do you think you're playing at?" the boy shouted at Harry, pointing a shaking hand at him—looking terrified as if Harry had grown fangs himself.

Ginny's mouth fell open. Why that ungrateful—well! What was his problem?

"What was _that_?" a boy near Ginny's shoulder asked his friend. "It sounded funny—what was that hissing all about? That wasn't even English!"

Confused, Ginny looked to her brothers only to see them staring at Harry in disbelief. Concerned she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Are you deaf, Ginny?" George said, looking stunned. "Didn't you hear him hissing? He's a Parselmouth!"

"That was Parseltongue!" she then heard someone else almost shout. "Harry Potter is a Parselmouth!"

Ginny's stomach felt as if it had been flooded with ice.

'_A Parselmouth?' _Ginny thought to herself in horror as she slowly began to realize what had happened. _'But how can that be? I-I understood him! I heard him as clear as if he had spoken English! If he's a Parselmouth, how is it that I could understand him?'_

In terror, Ginny looked back at Harry, who seemed just as bewildered as she looked. Ron and Hermione seemed to have come out of their stupors and quickly ran over to Harry, to drag him off the stage, and out of the Great Hall.

Ginny was breathing hard—feeling light-headed. She didn't have the slightest clue to what was going on with her. She hadn't heard anything but plain English from him—but everyone else had obviously heard some weird hissing—which could only mean…

She herself was a Parselmouth. Feeling cold, as if she was about to be sick, she staggered backwards, and almost into the boy who almost had his head bitten off and had yelled at Harry. She heard him calling out to his friends, "See? Potter is the Heir of Slytherin! Didn't you all see him try and set that snake on me?"

Outraged, Ginny turned to him, and without even thinking, she said, "He was just trying to help you! He said…"

But she stopped herself just in time, realizing that they would then target her if they knew that she had understood what Harry had said.

Fred and George looked at her, as did Justin who turned around at the outburst.

"Ginny?" Fred asked slowly. "What did you say?"

Glowing red, she mumbled, "Nothing."

Luckily for her, Percy chose that moment to come up and tell them all off. This was the first time she wasn't bothered by it.

"What is going on here?" he demanded in his most authoritative voice.

"Nothing, Percy_,"_ Ginny snarled harshly at him before she gave them all a filthy look before she turned and stormed out of the Hall.

She raced straight back up to her dorm room to where Tom was waiting for her. She grabbed her diary and wrote so quickly, her hand-writing was nothing more than chicken scratch.

_Oh, Tom! _she wrote in a panic. _Dear Tom, I don't know what to do! Something terrible just happened now!_

Tom responded quickly and in surprise, _**What is it Ginny? Another attack?**_

_No. At the Dueling Club, Malfoy was paired to duel with Harry. He tried to scare him by setting a snake on him, but it went after another student instead. Harry told the snake to stop, and it did! He's a Parselmouth!_

It took Tom a moment to answer her. And when he did, it was very slow, as if he was thinking about what she had just said. **A Parselmouth? Now that is interesting to hear. Tell me, what happened after that?**

_The snake backed off! Of course, now everyone will think that Harry really __is__ the Heir of Slytherin after that! I mean, it's not like I don't understand why that boy freaked out when the snake came after him. He's just as afraid as everyone else around here. But when I left the hall, I heard one of his friend's say that he's a Muggle-born and that he should hide out in their dorm for awhile. So that would explain a lot, but to blame Harry like that without any real evidence is just so unfair! I mean, no one else knows about Hagrid opening the chamber fifty years ago._

Much to Ginny's relief, Tom was able to calm her down.**I understand why you are so angry, Ginny. It isn't fair I know. People will always be afraid of what they don't understand. I am sure that this boy was frightened because he, like most, don't know what Harry is capable of. Perhaps Harry didn't even know he could talk to snake himself! After all, he defeated Voldemort—the most powerful wizard of all time. So I think that he may have powers that we don't know about yet. Now I am curious about else something, Ginny. If Harry was speaking Parseltongue, how do you know that he told the snake to****stop?**

Ginny gulped in fear, but she knew she had to tell him. She dipped her quill into her inkpot again and wrote, _Because_ _I __heard__ him Tom. I understood what he said! Don't ask me how, because I don't know myself, but I just did. I'm scared, Tom. With the sleepwalking, and the strange dreams, those rooster feathers, the paint on my clothes… and now this. I just don't get what's happening to me! Am I going mad?_

**Parseltongue isn't an evil ability, Ginny. While it does have a bad reputation… but what's so bad about being able to talk to snakes? I think it would be proud to have something that hardly anyone else ever had, myself.**

_Maybe it'll go away._ Ginny wrote hopefully._ I mean, I've never been able to talk to snakes before! And I remember seeing a few garden snakes at home._

**A lot of funny things happen to wizards around your age. Abilities just pop once we start schooling. Maybe you're just a late bloomer?**

_But Tom, I don't WANT it! I didn't ask for this! I gladly give it up if I could, but I don't know how! What do I do, Tom?_ She wrote panicky.

**Well, first of all…** he wrote back quickly, as if afraid she would do something stupid. **Don't tell anyone else about it. You said everyone thinks Harry Potter is the Heir of Slytherin, because of this ability, and you hardly need that. It would only put you in even more danger…**

_You're right. You're right… _she wrote slowly._ Thank you Tom._

**I will try to keep you safe, Ginny. So, until I am able to figure out how to put a stop to this, you must keep this between us. **

And so, Ginny stayed up in her room for the rest of the evening. She talked with Tom for several hours until her cramped up hand wouldn't let her do it anymore and she stuffed in under her pillow. She changed into her pajamas and laid down. She knew it was very late by the time that the other girls had come up and got ready for bed. She didn't say anything to them as she lay still… pretending to be asleep. At long last, the lights went out and—aside from the soft breathing of the other girls—there was complete silence.

She just sighed as she parted one of the curtains of her four-poster open just a hair so that she could see the window. She laid there for hours, watching the gently falling snow through the glass. She laid there and watched the darkness slowly become brighter and brighter and the sun had come up. She had stayed up the entire night, but barely noticed it as all these terrible thoughts plagued her mind.

'_Could Harry really be the Heir of Slytherin?' _she wondered to herself as she could hear the girls yawning and getting up._ 'But Hagrid was the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago. Sso how could Harry possibly be the Heir? But then again, Harry is a Parselmouth. And only the darkest of wizards, like Salazar Slytherin are Parselmouths. Isn't that what they always say? But then how could I understand Harry when he talked to that snake?'_

She continued to ponder this throughout the morning, and even skipped breakfast and her morning classes; struggling in vain to understand what was happening to her. She talked to Tom after break that very same day and told him of her fears.

**Ginny, I personally think that it's just a coincidence that Harry Potter is a Parselmouth. After all, it was Hagrid who opened the Chamber of Secrets to begin with. I'm sure that boy has nothing to do with this.**

_I thought of that too Tom. But Hagrid is really close to Harry. So do you think it's possible that Hagrid has…? I don't know… is controlling him somehow and forcing him to do this? I remember Dad telling me how during the war, You-Know-Who and other Dark wizards were able to control people's minds. Maybe Hagrid's doing something like that to Harry! Perhaps I should find him and warn him about Hagrid…_

**I wouldn't do that if I were you, Ginny. **Tom wrote forcefully.** If Harry is under Hagrid's control, then there is a good chance he won't believe you, or might turn you over to Hagrid. And then what would you do?**

_I know it's risky, Tom. But I care for Harry a lot, I think it's worth the…_

**Ginny, that is not a very wise idea. I am warning you not to do it. You have no idea what the Heir of Slytherin is capable of.**

As Ginny read Tom's last passage, the night without sleep was beginning to catch up with her, and without warning, she had to strain to keep her eyes open. Barely able to even pick up her quill, she began to write,_ Tom, I'm so tired all of the sudden. I think that maybe I should go up and…_

But Ginny fell into the blanket of warmth before she could even finish her sentence. Her quill fell to the floor with a soft clatter and she immediately fell into another dream…

_*Dream*_

_Ginny fell back into a comfortable darkness and felt a tingling feeling of numbness throughout her body. Once again, she felt as though she were merely a puppet—and someone else controlling her body—forcing her to get up from her seat by the window and walk slowly towards the portrait hole. _

_She vaguely remembered drifting in and out of a daze, hardly knowing where she was going. She could feel herself wandering down several staircases and through a secret passage that she never knew existed before. She entered a dark room and heard the sounds of dripping water. _

_She felt her jaw move and speak without her consent. But she could understand what she said, "COME." _

_She wasn't sure what happened next—only that she saw the fangs of a snake, like the ones from the Dueling Club—only now grown to an enormous size, emerging from somewhere below her. She cowered in fear as she heard a loud hissing sound and felt something slither out of the room. _

_She wanted to run for help, tried pleading for those fangs to stop, but nothing she said or did changed anything. She was forced to follow whatever went passed her… She wanted to cry, to curl up into a ball and sob for her parents to come and help her. She could hear voices not far off, and tried shouting out a warning to them, but she couldn't make a sound._

_The next second, she saw that same boy from the Dueling Club and Nearly Headless Nick standing right in front of her. The boy was looking through Nick when he caught sight of her and all of a sudden he froze up and fell to the ground as stiff as a board. Terrified, Nick looked behind him to see her as well, and then suddenly he lost his silvery shape, as he froze as well. He became something like that black cloud, hovering just beside the boy… both with identical expressions of horror. _

_Ginny, feeling her body give in to the terror she felt, she felt herself fall to the floor as well as she lost consciousness. The last thing her vision held was a vivid poisonous green color… almost glowing in the darkness that surrounded her and… _

_Goosebumps went up her spine as she heard a high-pitched laughter… _

_*End of Dream*_

Though her eyes were still closed, Ginny woke up feeling the cool stone floor beneath her. She felt weak and was shaking from head to foot when she finally was able to look around. She strained to push her aching body up from the floor. She felt as if she had just gotten through a terrible illness and was only just starting to get her strength back after being trapped in bed for so long.

As she turned her head around to try and see where she was, she gasped in horror. Her vision was slightly blurry, but she was able to make out the foggy images of a body lying right in front of her.

'_No, please, no!' _she begged herself as she forced her body to get up—only to fall back to the floor in pain. Desperate, she blinked several times to clear her vision… and there… lying in the middle of the corridor… there was the boy, his face frozen in terror, beside a blackened silhouette of Nearly Headless Nick.

Trying not to throw up, Ginny shoved her whole fist into her mouth to smother her scream of terror. Taking every last bit of energy left in her, she got up—holding onto a wall for support—and she stumbled away from the bodies on the floor.

Feeling her strength slowly beginning to return, her pace quickened when she neared the Library. The doors were opened, and she glanced inside as she walked past, and was surprised to see Harry standing there having an argument with the same group of Hufflepuffs she saw yesterday.

"I don't care what sort of blood you've got!" she heard Harry cry out fiercely. "Why would I want to attack Muggleborns?"

"I've heard you hate those Muggles you live with," one of the boys said quickly.

"It's not possible to live with the Dursleys and not hate them. I'd like to see you try it," Harry snapped at them before he turned and headed right towards her. Panicking, she ducked down behind a suit of armor. She stuck her head out only to watch his back walk down the same corridor she had just come from.

She felt like a coward. She wanted to come out and defend him from those stupid Hufflepuffs, but her fears of being found anywhere near Justin and Nick surfaced again, and once she was sure he was gone she ran.

She ran down the hall, unable to see straight through the blinding tears in her eyes. She looked down to the stone floor, allowing it to be her guide, until she finally found her way back to the Tower. She ran up to the dorm and she cried uncontrollably until she fell asleep, unable to forget the horrendous things that had just occurred.

But sure enough, she awoke to forget everything that happened.

_*Later*_

_There was another attack today and I don't know where I was_. Ginny wrote to Tom after dinner. _Tom, I don't know what's happening to me. It's so strange. Every time there's an attack, I can't remember where I was! Like today! I can't remember where I was when that Hufflepuff, Justin, was attacked!_

**Ginny, we've been over this before…**

_But what am I going to do, Tom! I think I'm losing my mind! I don't know why I kept forgetting where I am all the time. Do you think there's something wrong with me? Should I go to Madam Pomfrey?_

**And tell her what exactly? **

_Oh, I don't know Tom! I don't know what's wrong with me, but I don't know how much longer I can keep going like this. I'm scared Tom!_

**I told you that I will take care of everything, Ginny. All you have to do is stay quiet about it until I figure out a way to end this. You don't want people to think you're really crazy now, do you?**

_No, of course not, _Ginny sniffed sadly.

**Well then. What happened? Today, just who was attacked? What happened?**

_Well, nobody knows really, of course. But Harry found them, and it's so awful—everyone's already talking about him after what happened yesterday at the Dueling Club. And now it was that Hufflepuff boy, Justin—you know that boy he saved from the snake—he was the one attacked!_

**And the Gryffindor ghost?**

_Yes! Who could do something like that to a GHOST? He's already dead! What could hurt him? And… _but she just realized something._ Tom? _She wrote to him hesitatively._ How did you know that Nick was also attacked?_

It took a moment for Tom to answer and wrote,**You just told me. Remember, Ginny? You told me just a moment ago?**

But Ginny was getting an uneasy feeling. _Oh, right,_ she wrote jerkily. She then made up the excuse that she was tired and wanted to go to bed early. But even as she shoved the diary deep into her trunk and out of sight, that uneasy feeling wouldn't go away.

There was something about Tom that was slowly scaring her. How did he know that Nick was attacked when she knew she didn't tell him? Or was she really going mad?

**(Oh, now she's starting to get suspicious! What will she do about Tom now? Next chapter… Christmas at Hogwarts! Wonder what she'll be getting for the most magical time of the year. Question though: Anyone have any ideas to what she would be giving Harry? Hope you all liked this chapter, and sorry for the wait.)**


	15. Christmas Blues

**Chapter 14: Christmas Blues**

Ginny awoke the next morning, after yet another uneasy night of sleep. However this time, she had been able to sleep without any dark dreams—something that she was truly grateful for. But when she finally dragged herself out of bed, she felt very fragile… like she could shatter at any moment. Even when she dipped her quill into the inkpot and wrote to Tom these days, she could feel the tears beginning to form in her eyes.

The story of what happened to Justin Finch-Fletchley and Nearly Headless Nick spread throughout the school and caused more panic than ever before. And now, after what happened at the Dueling Club, nearly everyone suspected that it was Harry who was behind it all.

Ginny could only count the days down until the end of term and everyone else would leave. She heard from Percy that Mum and Dad were going to be spending Christmas in Egypt this year so that they could visit Bill. That meant that she, and her brothers would be staying at Hogwarts with Harry and Hermione and they would have Gryffindor Tower entirely to themselves. Something that she was looking forward to.

She was able to relax more when she thought at how many people would be going home this time, although lately, Fred and George had become almost unbearable with all the joking about Harry being the Heir of Slytherin.

"So, oh Heir of Slytherin, please tell me who you chalked up for your next poor victim?" George would constantly ask in a loud voice whenever they met in the corridors.

"Yeah, I'm sure if you hurry, you can get one more in before they all leave tomorrow!" Fred added brightly.

If their teasing bothered Harry, he sure didn't act like it. He would normally just smile and gave them both a small wave before he left. Unfortunately, instead of cheering her up, they only made Ginny feel worse… if that was possible.

"For a joke to get old it has to be funny in the first place!" Ginny snapped at them one day after they pretended to run in mock terror when Harry came towards them. "Can't you leave him alone?"

"Ah Ginny, where's the harm?" Fred asked grinning. "I mean…" he added to a pair of Hufflepuffs who were walking past them, "Anyone with a _brain_ could see that Harry is the last person to be the Heir of Slytherin."

The Hufflepuffs gave them an angry look before they went running off.

"It's all in good fun," George finished happily, after he waved merrily at them until they turned a corner. "Besides, Harry knows that we're only kidding. He doesn't mind."

"But it's not funny! Not funny at all!" she spat out at the twins. "Everyone's so scared… scared that they'll be the next ones attacked!"

"What's happened to you anyway, Ginny?" George asked suddenly, as if he hadn't heard her, his grin fading a little. "You haven't been yourself for ages now. There was a time when you would be laughing with us."

"Oh, just leave me alone!" Ginny snapped and marched away.

But even as she huffed her way back to the common room and upstairs to her dorm, she had to face up to the fact that they were right. She wasn't herself anymore. Why she was like this, she wasn't sure… she was just so… _angry_ all the time. She hated it. She hated feeling so weak, tired, and as stressed out as she was… it was like there was someone else inside her… feeding these terrible feelings and dark thoughts to her.

She sighed miserably as she collapsed onto her soft bed. She laid there for a little while, staring at the opposite wall—where she noticed a few tiny spiders crawling as fast as they could towards an even tinier crack in the wall. She watched them, even long after they slipped through the crack and out of sight before she decided that she might as well finish wrapping her gifts.

She forced her aching body to get up and leaned over the bed to reach for the gifts in her trunk.

If there was one good thing about having Fred and George for brothers, it was the fact that they would pass secrets on to her… like in this case, how to get into the kitchens.

She was able to slip down there yesterday and had asked for some food. The House-elves—bless them—were only too happy to help her out. They were able to help with her Christmas shopping… she heave a sigh; half happy, have sad.

She was glad that she was able to find such delicious presents for everyone, but it hurt her to know that she didn't have any money to have been able to buy them herself. But, this is the best she could do. And so, she got to work wrapping everything—she already sent off some school owls with gifts for her parents, Bill, and Charlie.

And so she got to work. After about 20 minutes she had almost everyone done… now only had one left. She reached down and pulled out a small box of treacle tart and gently began to wrap it. She remembered how much Harry loved the stuff when he stayed with them last summer… she hoped he liked it. Once she was finished with everything, and tucked it away—her tiredness took over. In fact, she was so tired that she decided not to write to Tom tonight.

When she went to sleep that night—to her delight—she had gentle dreams of her parents at home at the Burrow…

*Christmas Day*

Christmas had come, and the castle was covered in a thick layer of snow, as were the grounds. The students all enjoyed themselves as they were constantly out in the snow, bundled up in their cloaks, and had snowball fights. Ginny had occasionally seen young couples disappear under heavy clusters of mistletoe in the halls—which were either early Christmas presents or perhaps even a first kiss. She smiled gently at the idea… even if her own heart was bursting with jealously.

Ginny awoke a little earlier than she normally had been lately when she heard a faint knocking on her dorm room door Christmas morning.

She sat up and pulled back the curtains. "Come in," she answered groggily.

The door cracked open and Hermione poked her head in. "Merry Christmas Ginny!" she said cheerfully.

"Oh, Hermione," Ginny sat up quickly, rubbing her eyes with a weary smile on her own face. "Happy Christmas to you too, Hermione. What brings you here so early?"

"Oh, I just thought I wish you a merry Christmas before I go and give my presents to the boys," she answered as she entered the room.

"Really?" Ginny asked in surprise. "I thought that we aren't in allowed others dorms."

"We aren't," Hermione admitted as she walked over to her, carrying a colorfully wrapped package. That was then that Ginny noticed that there was a large pile of presents at the foot of her bed. "But girls can go into the boy's dorm…" Hermione went on as she sat on the edge of her bed and smiled brightly at her. "But they can't come into ours. Apparently when the castle was built, boys were distrusted a lot more than girls."

"I can see that," Ginny laughed, and for the first time in a long time, it sounded natural to her. It felt nice. For a moment, she almost felt normal again.

"Anyway, I brought you a present," Hermione said, as she held out the small, brightly wrapped gift.

Ginny felt her jaw drop as she stared at it… for a moment, she didn't know what to do."I don't know what to say," she whispered hoarsely as she took it. "If I had known… I'm sorry, Hermione. If I knew that you had gotten me something, I would've…"

"That's alright," Hermione waved her had at the apology. "I didn't expect one. And don't worry about having to get one now either. But I just thought you would like this." She then checked her watch, "Oh," she frowned. "Sorry, Ginny I have to go… I ah… have to go and check on something real quick. But I'll talk to you soon."

"Ok, thanks" Ginny replied and watched as she went. Ginny stared for a long time at the little present, suddenly wondering why she felt so choked up. She looked down at the small present and felt guilt going through her again. She hadn't even thought of getting something for Hermione. She hadn't really talked to her… and yet she was kind enough to get her something.

And she couldn't believe that there were tears in her eyes. She wiped them away as she slowly opened it. Inside was a luxurious eagle-feather quill. "Beautiful…" she said, as she opened it and ran her fingers along the soft sides—she couldn't wait to use it later to talk to Tom.

She then turned to her other presents and began opening them. She mostly got candy from her brothers, but there were also a bag of Stink Pellets from Fred and George, a book from Percy, and some homemade fudge and usual Weasley sweater from Mum. Ginny laughed as she pulled the dark blue jumper over her head. It smelled of the Burrow and she hugged herself tightly—for one minute believing that she was at home with everyone.

She opened her eyes and, almost disappointed, turned to the card that Mum sent:

_Dear Ginny, _

_Hello sweetheart. I can't tell you how much we miss you around here. The house feels so empty now that all my babies are away from home. But don't worry about us. We've been doing fine. I'm sorry that you couldn't come to Egypt with us, it would've been so wonderful to have the family together again… but I understand. I hope that you are enjoying yourself and working hard though. Percy has written to me and said that you haven't been yourself lately. I also noticed that you haven't written for a while. I'm starting to become worried. _

_Just please promise me that you will enjoy yourself this Christmas. I know that your first year hasn't been easy for you, but just give it a little more time. Know that we love you and think about you all the time. Have a Happy Christmas. Take care of yourself and keep your brothers in line for me. _

_With all my love,_

_Mum_

Ginny sniffed as she wiped her eyes dry again. She had forgotten about writing to Mum lately and felt wretched for not doing so. She made a mental note to write soon. She then propped the card up on her night table and stared at it happily for a few minutes.

She then threw the paper down onto the floor, now that she had the dorm to herself, she could make a bigger mess and not have to worry about upsetting any of the other girls. She was about to go downstairs and see what everyone else got when she noticed a small present that she didn't see before.

Surprised, she reached over and picked up a surprisingly light and soft. She opened it to see that it was a beautiful, scarlet and gold stripped scarf. Bewildered, she looked around for a note to see who it was from… only to blush as red as a Christmas tree ornament.

_To: Ginny_

_Hope you have a very Merry Christmas!_

_From: Harry_

Feeling as if her heart would explode with emotion she hugged it to her heart before she wrapped it around her neck. She felt so warm… and not just from the scarf… she felt as if her heart was warming her whole insides…

Once she was done putting her presents away, she carefully folded the scarf back up and tucked it away inside her pocket. She would have to thank him… if she could only remember how to thank him when she saw him that is…

Once she had finally dressed she went downstairs to the common room and saw that Hermione and the boys were already there. Another smile appeared on her face when she saw her brothers, and Harry each had on a festive Weasley sweater. Harry was playing a quick game of chess with Ron before they went down for breakfast, Hermione was going through a new book that she obviously today, while Percy was telling off Fred and George once again.

Feeling happier than she had been feeling for months, Ginny pulled out her diary and the new quill that Hermione gave her and began to write.

_Dear Tom! It's Christmas! Merry Christmas!_

**Is it now? Oh, that's right, you told me that. Merry Christmas to you, Ginny! Now, tell me, what did you get?**

_Oh, a lot of stuff! _she wrote excitedly,_ I mostly get candy and… _she abruptly stopped there. She had only now remembered how Tom had been scaring her lately, and for some reason, she suddenly felt uneasy about telling him everything.

**And?** Tom wrote back curiously.

_Oh nothing,_ Ginny finished quickly. _Just a few small things from my brothers and a sweater from mum. Nothing to special I guess. _Hopefully Tom won't suspect anything.

They both talked for a short time, Tom telling her of his Christmas days… and how he didn't receive much of anything from the orphanage where he grew up in.

_Oh, I'm sorry, Tom,_ Ginny told him sadly when he finished talking about how he would be lucky to get a set of clothes at that horrible place.

**Never mind** **Ginny,** he wrote back kindly. **I never minded. But I did enjoy Christmas much more after I arrived at Hogwarts. Besides, I had a lot of other things to do than sit around watching everyone open their presents. But to me the feast was always the best…**

_Oh,_ Ginny asked excitedly, _Is it good?_

**It is amazing, **Tom repeated.

"Ginny?" Ron's voice called suddenly. She looked up to see that everyone was getting ready to head downstairs. "You coming?"

"Yeah," she answered and gave Tom a hurried goodbye. She shut the diary up and slipped it in her pocket. As they all excited through the portrait hole, Harry gave a loud yawn. That was when he noticed that she was walking right behind him.

"Oh, hey Ginny," he said brightly. "Merry Christmas."

Ginny tried… she really did try to say something to him. But as soon as she opened her mouth, a faint gurgling noise came out.

"Well," called a familiar voice and Ginny turned to see Fred and George following them. "If it isn't the Heir of Slytherin," Fred said as he bowed low to Harry.

George pretended to butt Fred out of the way and bowed to. "Oh, tis a great honor your slytheriness…" he said sarcastically.

Would the twins ever stop that? Nobody would ever forget about this _'Heir of Slytherin'_ business if they kept yelling around like that. "Would you both stop that," Ginny snapped. "It's getting really annoying!"

But she really shouldn't have said anything—it only caused her brothers to turn their attention to her. "Awwww, what's the matter, Ginny?" Fred asked as if she was still five years old.

"Don't fancy the Snake King anymore?" they both asked at the same time.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Harry's face go a little red and he turned his head away from them. Ron then said loudly, "Knock it off, both of you! Come _on_, Harry, or all the good stuff will be gone already!" He grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him hurriedly down the corridor, with Hermione running right behind them.

The twins wrapped their arms around each other's shoulders and called out at the same time, "Merry Christmas, oh King of Slytherin!"

Ginny felt the need to scream and pound her brothers until there wasn't anything left. Why did they ever think of the feelings of others instead of their jokes? Didn't they realize that their jokes often hurt more than humor?

*Later*

The Christmas feast was unlike anything that Ginny had ever seen before in her life. There were twelve frost covered trees lined up the Great Hall covered with hundreds of decorations and enchanted snow falling from the ceiling.

The tables were filled with every holiday food you could think of—from turkey to pudding—all of which was delicious. At one point, Professor Dumbledore stood up and led the hall in several Christmas carols. Then there was Hagrid…

Ginny hadn't seen Hagrid, except at meal times ever since Tom had warned her about him. She watched him, his face very red after all his drinks, singing more loudly and exuberantly than anyone else.

'_Can he really be the one responsible for all the attacks?' _she thought to herself as she glanced at Harry, who was pulling a Wizard Cracker with Ron. There was a BANG and when the smoke cleared, there was a large general's hat in its place.

'_Harry, he doesn't even know how dangerous Hagrid is. I wish that I could tell him… to warn him to be careful somehow,'_ she thought, trying to put the painful thoughts out of her mind and enjoy herself.

For the most part, she had been able to laugh and celebrate with everyone else. It was amazing how Christmas seemed to make everything brighter and make them forget how dark things are. Her favorite part had to have been when Fred had secretly charmed Percy's badge until it said _'Pinhead Boy'_.

For a long time, Percy couldn't figure out what everyone was laughing at until he looked down to polish his badge again. Last time she saw him, he had stormed out of the Great Hall in a fit—his ears a bright red. Ginny gasped happily as the desserts appeared. Just when she thought she couldn't possibly eat anymore, she saw some fudge and her mouth began to water. As she reached for it, Hermione unexpectedly got up and tried to drag Harry and Ron away.

"Ron, Harry, we have some work that need to finish," she heard Hermione say loudly to the boys. She pretended to be more interested in her desserts; but was listening closely.

"But the desserts…" Ron cried out, as if the idea of leaving in the middle of dessert was nothing short of a crime.

Ginny watched out of the corner of her eye as Harry nudged him in the stomach and gestured towards Hermione, who was glaring fiercely at Ron—as if daring him to take another bite. Ron recognized defeat as he groaned as he put his spoon down and followed them out of the Hall, looking glum.

'_Now what are they up to?'_ she thought to herself as she watched the three of them leave…

She turned back to her food… but for some reason wasn't as hungry as she thought she was. For she recognized that look on their faces. It was the same look that Fred and George had whenever they were planning to break the rules.

*That night*

It wasn't until evening when she finally saw Harry and Ron again. She was curled up in her favorite chair, telling Tom about the feast, and the twins were playing a very noisy game of Exploding Snap. The two of them had just climbed through the portrait hole. She had been writing to Tom about the feast while the twins played a loud game of Exploding Snap in front of the fire.

"Hey, where you been?" Fred asked them as they both headed to the stairs.

"None of your business," Ron called back.

"Where's Hermione?" George asked as he threw a few more cards down onto the table, which then exploded. Ginny glanced up curious as well.

"Hospital wing," Harry answered shortly.

"There was an accident," Ron sputtered out with a snort.

A wave of fear swept over Ginny. She had a vision of Hermione suddenly lying cold and frozen like a statue in a hospital bed. "What happened?" she demanded quickly as the twins looked concerned as well. "Was there another attack? Is she all right?"

But they already left, they headed up the stairs to their dorm, and seemed as if they didn't hear a word she said.

Ginny snatched up her diary. _Tom! _she scribbled with a shaking hand. _This is terrible!_ _Hermione Granger is in the hospital now! I can't believe this! She must've been attacked just now!_

**Hermione Granger? The one who spends so much time with Harry Potter?**

_Yes, she's one of Harry's best friends. But how could she have been attacked? I remember everything! I went to the feast and I've been in here the whole time! I can't believe this is happening…_

But she didn't get a chance to finish writing. The boys had reappeared, carrying some books.

"Hermione," Ginny asked quickly. As she got up, her diary slipped from her lap and fell to the floor. "Was she attacked?"

Harry looked mildly surprised but he smiled reassuringly at her which caused her heart to melt.

"Oh no, nothing like that," he told her kindly. He then looked back at Ron and smiled. "She just—er," he stopped for a minute as if he was wondering what to say. "She just had ah… a little accident with a potion…"

Ginny sighed in relief, and because she couldn't help herself, she asked, "What happened?"

Ron, who had slightly managed to compose himself for a moment, instantly burst into laughter. He had dropped a couple of the books he had been carrying, and had to scramble to pick them up. "She—" he gasped for breath, "She turned herself into a cat!"

Ginny's jaw dropped. "What?" she cried as the twins roared with laughter as well.

"Oh, this I gotta see!" George said and they both got up, but Harry cut him off rather coldly.

"Leave her alone!" he told them off. "She doesn't want anyone else to see her. We were just bringing some books for her. She's gonna be in there for awhile."

And to Ginny's astonishment, the twins only shrugged and sat down, but were still cackling with laughter. Ginny turned back to stare at him, but he was already leaving the common room. Not even mum could control them as he had just done. How did he do it?

She glanced back at the twins, still laughing, and back to the portrait hole. Harry just told them to stop and they did… to some, that wasn't impressive… but to anyone who knew Fred and George—that was nothing short of a miracle. She sat back down and her foot kicked the diary. "Oh," she said softly, coming out of her daze and picked it up quickly.

_Tom?_ she wrote to him hesitantly.

**I'm still here, Ginny. But what happened? Why didn't you answer?**

_I'm sorry. But I just found out that Hermione is ok. She wasn't attacked after all._

**But I thought you said she was in the hospital wing?**

_She is, oh, but she wasn't Petrified. _And she quickly told Tom of what Harry and Ron told her.

**She turned her into a cat? My, how did she manage something so foolish?**

_I don't know how! _she suddenly snapped at him_. What I want to know is what is happening to me?_

_**What do you mean?**_

_Haven't you been listening to __anything__ I've been telling you?_ Ginny demanded hotly. _All these attacks! And what about these dreams? I still have a lot of trouble remembering them… but they're coming back to me in bits and pieces…_

**Ginny, just because you are having unusual dreams odd dreams doesn't mean that you're attacking the students or opened the Chamber of Secrets! **

But Ginny didn't give him a chance to finish.

_NO! Something is wrong with me! As soon as I come to school, the Chamber of Secrets has been opened and I can suddenly talk to snakes? That's not normal! Tom, Percy keeps telling me I'm pale and I'm not myself. I think he suspect me…_

**Ginny! We've been through this a million times already! You're a first-year! How could you possibly find and open the Chamber of Secrets? Only a powerful wizard—Slytherin's one true heir—could do that.**

_Alright then you tell me, how could I possibly become a Parselmouth? What is happening to me?_

**GINNY! You're being dramatic! Calm down…**

_But I've tried! I've tried and tried, but I can't calm down! I'm so angry all the time…_

**Ginny, **Tom said soothingly.** Those students in the hospital will be fine though. It could've been much worse. They were just petrified, and they'll be revived soon. It's not **_**near**_** as bad as if they die.**

Ginny was breathing hard. _But Tom… what if I'm becoming bad? What if I'm turning evil?_

**Ginny… there is no good or evil… there is only power… and those too weak to seek it.**

For the next couple of weeks, Ginny felt as if she was living in some kind of nightmare. Sleep was a thing of the past. There were great circles under her eyes, and her face had lost all color. She could only pick at her food, and only ate when Percy was looking so that he wouldn't lecture her.

She became so tense; her grades began dropping… and she was afraid to leave the tower alone—terrified that if someone wasn't with her all the time… she would attack someone…

But thankfully there were no more attacks for the rest of the Christmas holidays, and even after the students had come back.

It was nearing the end of January and she was having another long talk with Tom in the library. She was telling him what she had realized there was a connection with the attacks.

_What do you think, Tom? First, it was that cat Mrs. Norris. I remember that she got me into trouble and everything… I suppose I might've WANTED something to happen to her… but not like this of course!_

**I know that, Ginny.**

_And then there was Justin. I was mad at him for accusing Harry, and maybe Nearly Headless Nick was just, I don't know… at the wrong place at the wrong time?_

**Well, that boy was being very rude after Harry saved him from that snake…**

_But I can't figure out why Colin was attacked! I mean, sure he talked a lot and was a little annoying. But why would…_

**Don't you remember, Ginny? **Tom asked her. **You were angry with him for bugging your dear Harry Potter so much. Who needs them anyway, Ginny? You know that I'll always be here for you.**

Ginny just slammed the diary closed. Tom was doing it again. He was scaring her with his words… she gulped and tucked the diary deep into her bag and out of sight. She didn't know what was happening, but she needed to try to stop talking to him until this whole Chamber of Secrets thing is over with. She heard the bell ring and got up for class.

**(Another chapter down! Hope you all enjoyed it. Now Ginny is getting scared of Tom. The next chapter… Ginny starts putting the pieces together… hope to have it up soon!)**


	16. Breaking Free

**Chapter 15: Breaking Free**

Ginny hadn't spoken to Tom until all the other students returned at the start of next term. When classes had restarted, it didn't take long for everyone to notice that Hermione was missing and they found out that she was in the hospital wing. Everyone thought at once that she had been attacked and was now lying there like all the other victims—petrified. But when they went to find out, Madam Pomfrey told them out to get out, that Hermione didn't want to be seen by anyone.

Though she knew that she should feel bad for her, Ginny was glad to know that even someone as smart as Hermione could make mistakes. It made her feel that there might be hope for herself after all.

After a few weeks, Ginny decided that it might be alright for her to pay a quick visit—just to see how she was doing, make sure that she was going to be alright. She came in with a few flowers that she picked from the greenhouses and asked Madam Pomfrey if it would be alright to say hi. Madam Pomfrey frowned and disappeared for a moment to ask and, to her relief, was allowed in. "She says that you can come in," she told her. "Usually she won't allow anyone to see her except Potter and your brother. But she's improving nicely and isn't as worried about how she looks right now. But only for a few minutes."

Ginny nodded in understanding as she entered. The first thing she saw where the other beds that were hidden from view behind curtains to where she knew were the victims. She gulped and called out anxiously, almost afraid of what she was going to see. "Hermione?"

"Over here!" called Hermione's voice at the very back and behind another screen. Ginny walked to the end of the ward—trying hard not to look at any of the other beds that had been hiding behind curtains.

When she pulled back the blind she couldn't help but stare. She hadn't been sure of what she had been expecting to see—a cat sitting there? Hermione had traces of black fur on her hands, though none of it was on her face… her eyes were narrow like a cat's and were a rather sickly yellowish-brown color… while her nails were sharp and pointed like claws.

But Hermione was smiling when she saw her. "Good to see you, Ginny," she told her. "It gets so lonely in here."

Ginny's face must've said everything she was feeling because Hermione sighed and said, "I know… I know that I look—_different_."

"No, no, you look fine," Ginny lied quickly.

"Oh, I'm sure," Hermione snorted with laugher. Ginny couldn't help but chuckle to as she took a seat next to her and held out the bouquet. "Here, I brought you some flowers. But maybe I should've brought you some catnip instead?"

They both looked at each other for a moment, before they suddenly began to crack up. And soon they were both in a hysterical laughter, feeling lighter than they had been in weeks.

It went on for awhile, and only stopped and Hermione took the flowers and put them beside her in a much more cheerful sort of way. It was then that Ginny saw all the books, quills, and parchment that were scattered around the bed. "You mean you're still working after all this?" she asked as she gestured to Hermione's face.

"You sound like Ron," Hermione replied as she rolled her eyes. "Yes, I have to. I can't let myself fall behind. It's nowhere near as good as going to class, but…" she trailed off as she looked at her hands to see the claws. "It's all I can do at the moment."

"How did this happen?" Ginny couldn't help but ask.

Hermione groaned. "I was stupid. I didn't think things through, and… I added the wrong hair to the potion."

"What kind of potion…?" Ginny had to ask, when the memory of Hermione stuffing that book into her bag… _Moste Potente Potions_… and a horrible idea came to her mind. She suddenly didn't want to know and looked around quickly for a change of subject. Just then, Ginny saw something sticking out from Hermione's pillow. "Hermione? What's that?"

Hermione blushed red and stuck whatever it was under her pillow ever farther. "Nothing," she said quickly. "Just a get-well card."

"Ohh," Ginny said interested. "From who?"

Hermione turned scarlet. "It's nothing," she said quickly. "Really."

Ginny was ready to keep asking until Hermione told her, but then she remembered how it felt to be asked about someone you really like and bit her tongue.

"Ok," she said. "I get it. It's none of my business."

Hermione looked surprised, but relieved. "Thanks," she sighed, still blushing. "I thought for sure that you would keep bugging me about it until I confessed."

"I'm not like, Ron," Ginny answered. It felt so good to talk to someone who could talk back. Not that she didn't have anything against Tom, she just liked talking to someone else—another girl with spoken words. Even as much as she enjoyed talking to Tom, having somebody—someone just there—to interact with, and physically respond to, was such a wonderful feeling.

They both talked for a few more minutes about little things until Madam Pomfrey came over with Hermione's medicine and shooed her out. Ginny said goodbye and headed back along a long corridor, feeling better than she had for awhile. At least until she felt the diary in her bag—she had wondering what to do about it for ages. She hadn't spoken to Tom since Christmas and she knew that he was bound to be angry with her for that. She didn't want to lose her friend, but she needed to know what he knew. She had planned on talking to Tom and getting some real answers, and she wasn't going to stop until he told her. Nodding to herself, she walked in some random classroom for some privacy… big mistake.

Because inside, there was a tall, curly-haired Ravenclaw prefect kissing…

_"Percy?_" she gasped when she recognized her brother.

The two prefects broke apart from their kiss, Percy's face as red as his hair. "Ginny!" For once, he seemed at a loss for words. He and the girl both looked at each other in worry before he finally cried out, "Wait—go outside!"

Ginny backed quickly out of the classroom, but her bad mood had disappeared for a moment. She leaned against the wall, unable to stop the surge of giggles that had managed to escape, even as she clamped her hands over her mouth to keep silent. _Percy_… rule-loving, pompous Percy had a _girlfriend_? Who knew? Well, she guessed that even her annoying brother could fall in love with someone. Oh, she couldn't wait to see Fred and George's…

The Ravenclaw prefect had just come out and as soon as Ginny saw her, she burst out laughing again—unable to help herself. The girl blushed just as red as Hermione did earlier and ran down the hallway before Ginny could say anything. A few seconds later, Percy grabbed her arm and pulled her into the classroom.

Ginny didn't mind. She just grinned at him and said, "Percy… you hound…"

At her words, she was startled as she realized that it had been the first time in ages that she sounded like her old self. It was so astonishing, and was only made better when she see saw the bright color spread from her brother's ears across his face so that his whole head was a bright red color.

"Penny and I," he said briskly as if they were in a business meeting. "Well, we-we-it's not what you…rather we were just…" but not even Percy could come up with words to explain what he had been doing. Ginny just grinned widely at him. "Ginny," he said anxiously, "You won't… you aren't going to—please don't tell anyone, will you? Especially, not the twins… if they heard… they'd never let me hear the end of it!"

"Oh, Perce, who'd believe me that _you_ were going out with anyone?" Ginny giggled, her heart soaring. "It's just good to know that you do have a soft spot in there somewhere! Wish I knew sooner…" Still red, he turned and left, leaving a little faster when Ginny let out another snort.

This was too good. She loved laughing again after all those months of feeling scared and miserable. Still smiling, she pulled out the diary and told Tom about what just happened.

_Oh, Tom, who knew that Percy had it in him?_ Ginny wrote, still laughing. _Can you imagine that authority-loving Percy Weasley was actually kissing a girl! One would think that he was human or something!_

**I have to say that it is very unexpected. I don't see why you are making such a big deal about this. It was only a kiss. Nothing important.**

Ginny suddenly frowned and wrote back forcefully, _Well, I think it's sweet! I'm glad that Perce finally has a girlfriend._

**Personally, I don't see why people bother with something as ridiculous as… **_**love**_**.**

Ginny stared at the page. He had written the word 'love' in a way that said, quite clearly, that Tom thought it was a disgusting word. Ginny felt cold inside… how often had she told Tom how she felt about Harry? And here he was, acting as if it her feelings were nothing. She felt as if she had been slapped in the face.

Her fingers trembled on the cheap cover of the diary. Why would he all of a sudden act like this? Tom had always been so kind to her… and she had been writing to him for so long…

She suddenly stopped at that thought as an idea swept over her. A horrible, terrifying idea…

**Ginny? Are you there?** Tom wrote to her.

She then flung the diary away from her like when she did he first began talking back to her at the Burrow. It hit the wall before it fell with a loud flop onto the floor. The pages laid open, even a sheet fluttered out and fell right next to it. She just stared at it as she sat with her back up against the opposite wall as hideous thoughts come through her mind.

Tom had been so kind and understanding… but lately his words had been so mean… almost cruel even. Ever since she got the diary, she had been different… she hadn't been the same, cheerful person she had been before she met him. That first day… the first time she wrote to Tom was when she had her first nightmare…

His words… constantly telling her not to tell anyone what was happening to her… coming up with believable excuses to what was going on. Her nightmares… these attacks that had only started happening the year she brought Tom here… the times when she couldn't remember where she was whenever there was an attack… how he _knew_ when Nick had been one of the victims when she knew that she hadn't said anything.

How he constantly wanting her to be there writing to him… almost as if he was hungry…

It couldn't be… but it _had_ to be…

She had been right all along. She really had been involved in the attacks. She was responsible for everything that had been happening… _'But how? How could I have done it?' _she thought in terror.

'_No, it couldn't be?' _she thought, as she gripped her hair._ 'Tom wouldn't do that.' _It seemed ridiculous to even think it, but the more she did, the more she realized how obvious it was. She stared at that book, anger that she never felt before threatened to boil over. She crawled over to it and grabbed her quill to write, _Tom, I'm serious here. If you don't give me some answers, I swear that I'll… I'll… I'll throw you in the fire or something! I __will__ get rid of you!_

Ginny felt a bit of malicious pleasure when she saw Tom's writing became faster, almost frantic as it appeared. **Ginny, wait! I don't know what you are talking about! **

_Don't you lie to me! _Ginny wrote back angrily. _I know that you have something to do with these attacks! I don't know how… but you have been twisting my mind around. Convincing me not to trust anyone… not even my own family! I never used to be like this before I met you! Tell me right now what you have been doing to me or I will get rid of you so that no one will ever find you again!_

**Ginny,** Tom wrote back, and she felt as if his words were nothing but poison on the page.** Think about what you are doing—what're saying! How could I possibly be responsible for any of this? I'm just a simple little diary… and even if I was behind them, how could you even think about getting rid of me? Who will you turn to with all your problems and worries? Who will you have there to comfort you and tell you that you will be alright? You need me, Ginny as much as I need you. **

_I don't need you to survive! _Ginny snapped at him. _Once I get rid of you, everything will go back to how it was before!_

**Are you so sure about? You really think that it would be that easy? You have put so much of yourself into me, Ginny that you can't give me up just like that.**

Ginny stared at his words. _What are you talking about, Tom?_

**What I mean is that there are things I can help you with now, Ginny. You put so much of yourself into me that I have become so much stronger since the day we met. Ever since then you had helped make me stronger and stronger. I am now powerful enough to return the favor, Ginny. After everything you have done for me, I would like to repay you if I can. If you continue to help me, I can help you get whatever you want. I can make all your dreams and wishes come true. Even win the heart of the boy you care for so dearly… I know many ways that can do that…**

Ginny looked at the tiny book in front of her. Tom's words rang true. She had put her very heart into the diary… and here he was promising to give her everything she ever wanted. Thoughts of her family finally have money so that they wouldn't have to worry anymore and she would be with someone that she admired and cared about… but then she noticed the paper that had fallen out of the diary and picked it up to see that it was, in fact, the picture of Harry that she put in there before Colin had been attacked.

Looking at that kind, young face—Ginny felt faint just thinking that maybe they could be together someday… but…

She wanted Harry to _want_ to be with her… not _force_ him too… she didn't like the way the Tom was promising her to get what she wanted. _No,_ she wrote forcefully. _I'm sorry Tom, but I just can't do it._

His scrawl was sloppy now, and it had become difficult to read. Ginny could tell that he was becoming angry and frustrated now. **You want to be with him don't you? You want to have more money for you and your family right? Everything you want is in your grasp, Ginny. I can help you with that if you help me! I can teach you how to make him love you… want nothing more than to be with you…**

Ginny didn't want to hear anymore of this and wrote back: _No! I don't want it to be like that! Of course I want Harry to like me back! More than anything! But I don't want to use some spell or potion to do that! I want him to like me because of me! Not by force! That's not love! And I won't listen to your words for another minute! YOU'RE LYING!_

And as hot tears fell down her face, she slammed the diary close and sobbed. His words had once been so beautiful and kind had now become so ugly! She couldn't stand it! She didn't know what to do with the diary…

Her eyes grew wide as an understanding struck her. _'Hold on, the diary!'_

It was the diary that she had carried with her all the time… the one thing that had always been there with her every time was an attack or whenever she blacked out and woke up somewhere else. And during all those times it had been after she had been writing to him…

Ginny stared at the fading black cover in cold rage. _'Well there's only one way to know for sure that it will never happen again!' _she thought furiously. She scooped up the book and ran out of the classroom and down the corridor, rubbing her red eyes on her sleeve as she went. She wasn't sure where she was going, just looking around—trying to find someplace to get rid of the cursed thing for good… she found herself back on the second floor, near the wall where the writing in red was still on the wall. Guilt and pain began striking her heart at the sight of it, now sure that was she was doing was the right thing.

Grateful for the fact that Filch had left his usual post, she ignored the 'Out of order' sign on the door to the girls' bathroom, and ran inside.

When she saw the toilets, she had an idea. She ran to the nearest stall and hurled it with all her might down the toilet and flushed it. What she didn't know was that it had been Moaning Myrtle's toilet. So besides a splash, she heard the surprised screaming of a girl. Startled, she turned and ran from the room. Even as the silver image of Moaning Myrtle flew up from the stall to see who had thrown the book at her, Ginny had slammed the door behind her.

All Ginny could think of was to get as far away from that corrupted diary as she could. She just ran, nearly knocking several people down, including professor Flitwick, but she hardly noticed—focused only on one thing. Her legs were burning, and her lungs hurt as she tried to draw in breath past her sobs. She scrambled up a flight of stairs, blinded by tears, just so desperate to get away from herself that she wished that she could just find some way to get rid of these terrible thoughts and feelings.

She didn't stop until she ran upstairs to her dorm and fell onto her bed and cried. She was weeping so hard that it was all she could do to pull the curtains around her so that she could hide from the rest of the world.

It had been bad enough to realize that _she_ was the source of all the vicious attacks, that _she_ was the reason Harry was suspected and everyone was pointing fingers at… but that it was _Tom_, her dearest friend, someone whom she had trusted was the only one who understood her was the one making her do it…

She didn't want it to be Tom. But what other explanation was there? This whole mess had only started happening this year—ever she'd brought the diary here. Tom had come in and seeped into every corner of her life, and began twisting everything around. If he could do that, then surely he had to have been the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets and attacked all those people.

Eventually, she'd sobbed it all out until she no longer had any tears left to shed. She just stared up at the roof of her bed for hours and hours—lost in dark thoughts. _'But it's over now,'_ she kept telling herself. _'Tom is gone and now everything will be ok. He can't hurt anyone again.' _But all sorts of terrible 'what if's' came into her mind. What if the diary wasn't destroyed? What if he would call to her somehow and take her over completely? She didn't want to, but she knew that she had to go back tomorrow… just to make sure that he was gone and out of her life for good. She reached into her pocket to pull out the picture again.

As she looked at Harry's face, she knew that it was her fault that he was going through such a hard time. She had to find some way to make it up to him. She sniffled as she stuffed the picture under her pillow and curled up as sleep washed over her. For the first time in months, she felt safe.

_*The next day*_

During break, she found an excuse to walk back to the second-floor bathroom the following day, with fear going through her like lightening. She didn't want Tom _back—_but she wanted to see with her own eyes that the book was gone. If it was still there, then she would just have to find some other way of getting rid of it besides flushing it down a toilet. She had to make sure that no one would ever find it again. To make sure that _he_ wouldn't do any more harm than he had already.

She came out of her thoughts at the sound of a hysterical sob and entered the bathroom. The first thing she saw was Moaning Myrtle sitting weeping on the back of the same toilet that she had flushed the diary down of. Ginny approached cautiously. "Hello, Myrtle…" she said, trying to sound upbeat, but to her it sounded feeble more than anything.

Myrtle looked up at her. "What do you want?" she cried miserably.

"Oh, I… ah, well you see… I just wanted to see how you were doing?" Ginny stuttered, hoping it didn't sound too much like a question. But she needed to know… Ginny tried looking around for any trace of the little, black book, but found nothing.

"I'd be better if people didn't come around, laughing and throwing things at me!" Myrtle sniffled. "Do I go around where you are and bother you? No! I just want to be alone, try to figure out some way to put myself out of my misery… but instead I have people walking in here and trying to upset me!"

"Who threw what at you?" Ginny asked, pretending to be interested, but her heart was racing painfully.

"Just some silly book," Myrtle said sulkily. "I didn't see who it was. Here I was, minding my own business, thinking about death… and it fell through the top of my head…" she then let out a loud wail and Ginny had to clamp her hands over her ears from the noise. Myrtle carried on for some time before she rose into the air.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Ginny said quickly, but she still hadn't got her answer. "But… ah… what happened to it? If it's still in here, I'll be happy to get rid of it for you…"

"Don't know! Don't care!" Myrtle wailed tragically. "All I know is that it's not in here anymore!" Then with a loud scream, she dove straight into her toilet and water was splashed everywhere. Ginny left quickly after that, fearing that she would be blamed for the mess; but her heart felt freer now, knowing that her troubles were over. Tom was gone…

The people in the hospital wing would be cured in a few months time, there weren't going to be any more attacks, she made sure of that. She had gotten rid of what she knew was the cause of it all. She told herself the diary had been flushed and was probably at the bottom of the lake by now. She grinned at the thought that maybe the giant squid had eaten it. She hoped so…

Smiling, she headed off to the Great Hall—suddenly feeling properly hungry again and planning on eating thirds or fourths of everything. Along the way, she was thinking merrily of the diary now being digested inside the giant squid…

**(Finally! Tom is gone! Or is he? Valentine's day is coming up! How does Ginny react when she sees that the last person that she wanted to become involved with Tom has the diary? Find out soon! And I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. Thank you.)**


	17. Valentine's Day Disaster

**Chapter 16: Valentine's Day Disaster**

Ginny managed to put Tom out of her mind, more easily than she'd thought possible for the next couple weeks. For the first time all year, Ginny was enjoying herself. It was as if she never found Tom and she was starting the year all over again.

To her greatest surprise, her brothers teasing and jokes didn't bother her nearly as much. They still teased and bullied her of course—or in Ron's case—just ignored her. But she'd somehow redeveloped that old thick skin she had before she found Tom, and was able to just stick her tongue back at them.

She smiled more and her appetite got larger and even those dark circles under her eyes slowly started to disappear now that she was sleeping better at night. The best part was that she could talk to some of her new friends if she had a problem and soon she was able to forget it. No longer did her problems fester inside her and made her angry and draw into herself. Now that she was having long conversations with some of the other girls from her dorm room and was slowly coming out of her shell to become the person she was before she met Tom.

With every new friend she got, for every day that there were no signs of attacks, when her grades started to pick up, and when the nightmares that plagued her at night stopped—the more it only confirmed that she made the right choice. But after a couple weeks, her feelings of guilt were forming inside her again. She never told anyone of her beliefs about Tom Riddle and his diary being the thing responsible for everything. But she felt elated now that she knew the truth, because she also knew that this mistake would never happen again. The diary was gone now, most likely in the lake, never to be seen again.

It was a wintry-pale afternoon, early in February, by the time that Hermione was finally allowed to leave the hospital wing. Now tailless and her whiskers gone, she was more than happy to return to her classes. But why she would _want_ to go to classes was still a mystery to her.

But still, spirits all around Hogwarts were high as Valentine's Day approached when the attacks seemed to have stopped. In fact, just when things were really starting to look up, Lockhart announced to her class the day before Valentine's day that there was to be a big surprise for everyone tomorrow. _'And knowing Lockhart,' _Ginny thought as she rolled her eyes in exasperation, _'It's gonna be as loud and gaudy as he is.'_

But everywhere she looked, she could see couples give each other boxes of chocolates or flowers… people sharing kisses in the halls—something that Ginny was envious of—and even Hermione was getting in on the festivities. Ginny had spotted her making a Valentine card for someone and when she questioned Hermione about it, she blushed and made her promise not to say a word to either Ron or Harry. Since she knew that Ron would only tease Hermione about that he knew about it, she kept her mouth shut.

Ginny did think of giving Harry a Valentine herself, but she had no idea what to say to him. At first she tried to write something simple like just a card… but then that would make her sound rather cold and cheap. She debated on writing a long letter to him instead on her feelings… but that would make her sound desperate.

While she was pretty good with poems… she had no idea how to put how she felt in something rhyme… it was no use. Nothing seemed good enough to her. Besides, she was terrified of how he would react if he knew that his best friends only sister was writing love notes so she decided to throw out the idea altogether. At least until she saw Fred was teasing George late one day… now the two of them were constantly poking fun at each other, but to see George actually turning red and telling his twin to shut up… well you know that it's bound to be about something good.

"What are you so upset about?" she asked, unable to help herself.

"Oh, he wants to send a valentine to Angelina tomorrow for Valentine's day," Fred smirked and George turned so red that it matched his hair and he was forced to hide his face behind a random textbook.

"You want?" Ginny asked with an evil grin at George. "Oh, well. Maybe I'll tell her for you if you…"

"No!" he yelled. "No," he repeated firmly.

"Don't know why you are so upset," Ginny teased. "After all, you've been teasing me all year. What? You guys are allowed to make fun of me, but I'm not allowed to do so to you both?"

"That's right," he said uncharacteristically cold.

"Speaking of which," Fred asked her with his eyebrows raised. "What are you doing for tomorrow? Planning on sending a sweet valentine to your hero?"

Ginny went red but retorted, "Well, what do you propose I do? Send him flowers? Or maybe a valentine tomorrow?"

"Why not?" Fred asked as George got up and left. Fred quickly followed suit and the two of them headed towards their dorm room. He then called back to Ginny, "You know what they say? If you love someone secretly, then Valentine's Day is the perfect occasion to bare your heart and let that special someone know how special they really are."

Ginny watched him go and thought that over. Is it really the perfect excuse to tell him? Should she send him something? Maybe… a valentine might work… maybe a valentine would make him…

Oh, but she _couldn't_ do anything like that. It would be too embarrassing, and she had enough of that all year.

But what if she didn't put her name down? Then he wouldn't know… but then what was the point? Why send him something if there was no guarantee that he would know it was from her? What if he thought it was from other girl? He was sure to look around to see who might have sent it, and then… maybe then he would start to notice her… or at least talk to her?

She would settle for that…

And even if he didn't know or care, she could give him something to remind him that there was someone out there who cared about him… who _knew_ that he was innocent and not responsible for what has been happening. Someone who knew that he was kind and good… and that no matter what anyone said, she always would.

She went up to bed that night, going over hundreds of little rhymes in her head.

_I watched you from afar,  
>And I've fallen so hard for…<em>

No that won't work. She crumbled up the parchment and began again.

_I met you last summer,  
>and you made me turn as red as my hair…<em>

No, no, he would know for sure that was from her. The floor was littered with crumpled-up notes and she tried for what felt the millionth time:

_While this is only my first year,  
>I want to send you a piece of my heart…<em>

Oh, that sounds so stupidly sappy. It had to be simple and perfect…

_He's really… divine…_

It took her several hours but she finished it. It was short and funny… and it didn't make it so obvious that it was here. Nodding, she folded it up gently on the heart shaped card and made a small note: _Special delivery_. Yawning to herself, she left it at the foot of the bed, knowing that it would be taken care of tomorrow.

Grinning a little wider, she cleaned up the floor before the other girls came in and hid them in her trunk until she could take care of them later. She stayed awake a little longer and talked to her friends before she allowed herself to stray back into a peaceful dream.

*The next morning*

When she got up the next day, she saw that her card was gone. Grinning widely, she quickly changed and quickly went downstairs, feeling close to dancing. Yes, it was high time she did something about Harry rather than just sighing all the time…

She ran into Fred and George on the first floor and they joined her on the way to the Great Hall. "So," she asked George happily. "Did you send Angelina that valentine?"

To her delight, he turned red and stuttered, "D-don't know what y-ou're talking about."

"Oh, come on," she pestered him as they walked into the Great Hall. "Did you send her a card? Or how about flowers? Did you sign your name? What did you…?" but she didn't get a chance to finish because they stopped dead at what they saw.

"What the…?"

"Holy…"

Ginny's mouth fell open in horror. She had been right about Lockhart—but oh, did she wish she had been wrong. As she entered the Great Hall, it was draped entirely in enormous pink flowers in front of bright sweetheart pink satin, and paper hearts of blue and pink fluttered from the ceiling littering tables, floors, food like snow… then there were ugly and too pink flowers lining up the walls and filled the room with perfume scent so strong that she felt the need to cough.

She took a seat down at the end of the table with the twins and Ginny poured herself some orange juice—after emptying her goblet of confetti first however. Just as she'd finished wiping them off her eggs, Lockhart had stood up and demanded attention.

Ginny grimaced at Lockhart's robes, which were the same shade of pink as the flowers on the walls. "Oh, I think I'm gonna be sick," she whispered

"Get in line," George whispered to her, sounding close to vomiting himself.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Lockhart trumpeted to the hall. "And may I thank the forty-six people who have so far sent me cards!"

"_Forty-six_?" Ginny croaked out.

"They're either suck-ups looking for extra credit, or love-sick fan-girls," Fred said in disgust.

"Or both," George chimed in sickly.

Lockhart went on, "Yes, I have taken the liberty of arranging this little surprise for you all-"

George laughed so hard he snorted juice out his nose. "Oh, it was a surprise alright…"

"And it doesn't end here!" Lockhart went on and clapped his hands dramatically. And suddenly a whole gang of dwarves came in through the doors. "My friendly card-carrying Cupids! They'll be roving around the school today delivering your Valentines!" Lockhart explained but Ginny stopped listening at _card-carrying Cupids_. She was staring at the dwarves, her jaw falling open. Not only did Lockhart have the Great Hall decorated like an obnoxious, pink wedding cake, but all the dwarves were dressed as cupids—complete with little wings glued to their backs, and little bows and arrows.

"Never did like the idea of having cupids around for day like valentines," Fred said, staring at the dwarves with a mixture of pity and distaste. "I mean, when I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby dwarf coming at me with a weapon."

Ginny tried to hide her giggles as she watched the dwarves go around to the other students and started handing out valentines. She suddenly glanced over at Harry who was watching them with an incredulous look on his face. She couldn't tell if he had gotten her own valentine yet. Doubts were attacking her. What if he _did_ figure out it was her? What if he made fun of her? No, he wouldn't do that… but what if he told Ron? Or worse? The twins?

She gulped at that thought as she watched the valentines being delivered all throughout breakfast. The dwarves were looking sick with themselves and almost flung the cards at students—one poking a kid at the Ravenclaw table in the eye. As one Cupid tromped past, muttering under his breath, George leaned over to Ginny. "They don't look too happy, eh? I pity the poor fools who get one of their valentines this way."

Ginny could feel her cheeks turning red at those words. She tried to hide it, but it was too late, and their mouths fell open.

"Oh, Ginny, you didn't…" Fred said, but he couldn't finish as he was cracking up.

"Look," Ginny snapped, "weren't you the one who talked about that?"

"It was a joke, little sister," Fred explained to her. "I didn't think you would take my advice! I mean, its one thing to send a private note to someone the normal way, but a _valentine?"_

Ginny said defiantly, "It's nothing special. Just a card that's it. Besides it's not like I _signed_ it or anything, I'm not stupid…"

"No, but you _are_ obvious," Fred said as he picked up a slice of bacon. "I mean, you're always looking at him all doey-eyed and sighing every time he walks past. I mean…" he grinned, "It is for our own Harry Pot…?"

Ginny turned red. "Shut up! And I'm not that obvious…"

"Oh, no, not at all," George replied sarcastically.

"Yeah, I mean, some of the thick ones from the other Houses might not have cottoned on yet," Fred said as he pretended to think it over.

"How about your valentine for Angelina?" she snarled back, preparing herself for the worst. With a rather malevolent pleasure, he turned red, and the smirk faded as he sat grumpily back in his seat.

"Ah," Fred laughed at partner in crime. "Love is in the air! Can you just feel it?" He then clasped his hands together and batting his eyelashes, causing George to throw a piece of half-eaten toast at him. Ginny just went back to her food, but she wasn't hungry anymore as her entire face began to heat-up.

*Later*

She was starting to regret writing that valentine… and she regretted it even more later on that day. For that afternoon, as she was heading for History of Magic, she heard a loud shout coming from down the hallway.

"Oy, you! 'Arry Potter!"

Ginny turned around in time to see a Harry just down the corridor, with Ron, followed by what had to be the ugliest dwarf she had ever seen. He was covered in hair and with a thick heavy five o'clock shadow on his lumpy face as he came to a stop in front of him.

"I've got a musical message to deliver to 'Arry Potter in person," growled as he kicked his way through the crowd. Ginny felt her face beginning to burn and felt as if she was hyperventilating at just the sight of it. But she couldn't bring herself to move… just stand there and pray that it wasn't from her…

"Not here…" she heard Harry hiss.

Harry tried to shoo him away, but the dwarf wouldn't take the hint. "Stay still!" The dwarf was holding him back by his bag as he struggled to leave. "Lemme go!" Suddenly his bag ripped right in half, and everything in it cascaded to the floor; including an ink bottle that exploded like a water balloon and ink went everywhere. Harry dove for the floor hurriedly picked up his belongings, which were now covered in scarlet ink from the smashed bottle and to make matters even worse, Draco Malfoy came around the corner and asked, "What's going on here?"

Were the fates after her or something? Because with every passing second things just seemed to get from bad to worse… because now Percy, who could only have heard the commotion came over to see what was holding everyone up. He shouted, "What's all this commotion?"

At that point, Harry tried in vain to run again, but the winged dwarf, sensing his actions, grabbed hold of Harry's legs and both tumbled to the floor. Ginny simply felt awful for Harry, whose face was redder than her own hair. But her own cheeks began to burn as the dwarf started talking. "Right," he said, sitting on Harry's ankles so he wouldn't get away. "Here is your singing valentine." And then began a achingly familiar song:

_His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad,_

_His hair is as dark as a blackboard._

_I wish he was mine, he's really divine,_

_The hero who conquered the Dark Lord._

And that was it… she felt as if she were trapped in a living nightmare. Her private valentine… the one she worked so hard on for it be read by only _one_ person was just read out-loud to the rest of the school. What on earth had she done to deserve this?

Everyone else was laughing, even Harry was trying to snicker, but he looked like he wanted nothing more than to sink into the floor and disappear. Not that she blamed him—and while the idea sounded quite appealing to her as she thought about the two of them fading away together… but what on earth had she been thinking? Since when did she ever take the twin's advice? She was mentally kicking herself over and over. Why did she have to write one? And a _singing_ one at that? Oh, if she ever saw that dwarf again she was going to flush him away like she did that diary! As she became lost in thoughts of sticking that dwarf down the toilet, Percy was talking again.

Percy stuck out his chest so that no one could miss his badge and was now trying to tell people off to class. "And _you_, Malfoy-" Percy turned to the pale-faced Slytherin. Ginny looked up… but her bitterness quickly turned into horror as she watched Malfoy pluck something out of Harry's pile of ink stained books—it was a little black book—but it was the one that she recognized anywhere.

Ginny glanced over involuntarily, and felt as if her entire body turned to stone—as if _she_ had just been petrified. The musical valentine, the dwarf singing it, the humiliation she had just gone through was all forgotten at what Malfoy was holding…

_The diary._

But—but _how_? Where had he gotten it from? How could he have gotten hold of it? _Oh god. This can't be happening. _But it was supposed to be in the lake! Myrtle said that it was flushed… no wait… she didn't say that did she? She said that it wasn't in the bathroom anymore… she meant that someone had found it and took it with them…

"Give that back," someone said, and Ginny thought that her heart stopped when she realized that it had been Harry's voice, quiet and steely. She stared at him as he walked over to Malfoy and held out his hand.

Harry. _Harry had found the diary._

Sheer panic swept over Ginny as she stared from Malfoy to Harry. Malfoy just waved it in front of Harry, obviously thinking he had Harry's own diary. Her mind raced as she tried to comprehend how Harry had found it in the first place when Malfoy ignored him, sniggering to his two body guards. "Wonder what Potter's written in this?"

Percy ordered, "Hand it over, Malfoy."

No don't… Ginny rather have someone, anyone have the diary than Harry…

"When I've had a look," Malfoy teased, continuing to wave the diary at Harry.

"As a school prefect-" Percy began pompously, and if Ginny hadn't been so scared, she would have really punched him that time. When will he learn that no one cares?

But at that second, Harry pulled out his wand in anger and shouted _"Expelliarmus!"_ The diary shot from Malfoys hand, and into the air. For one moment, Ginny opened that it would fly out a window or something, but to her despair, Ron caught it on the other side of the hallway. And now that meant that they had it back, and Ginny whimpered under her breath.

Percy was yelling something about magic in the corridors, but Ginny's ears weren't working anymore as she pushed through the crowd, wanting only to get away. Trying desperately to think of some way to get out of this, she staggered towards her classroom, only a few meters away. But Malfoy wouldn't let her without hurting someone. As she passed him, looking sulky and malevolent, he turned on her and sneered in a loud voice, "I don't think Potter liked your Valentine much!"

That was what it took. He said it loud enough that everyone in the hallway—including Harry—couldn't help but hear. Mortified, Ginny ran into the classroom, covering her face with her hands to cover her face from the sheer embarrassment she felt and the terror of seeing Tom again…

**(All in all… not the best Valentine's day. Poor Ginny, the one person that she never wanted to hurt was the same one she embarrassed and now feels that he's in grave danger. What is she gonna do about it? How is she going to get the diary back? Find out next time! And I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. Thank you and I'll update again as soon as I can.)**


	18. Retaking the Diary

**Chapter 17: Retaking the Diary**

History of Magic had always been the longest and most boring of all the classes here… but today Ginny hardly noticed it. She just sat at the back of the room—she couldn't have paid attention or taken notes if her life depended on it. She just couldn't believe what was happening…

Harry had the diary! He was carrying it around with him! How could this have happened? She had got rid of the damn thing! How could Harry have found it? Had he figured out how it worked and was he spending time talking to Tom? And if he had, was Tom telling him anything? But Tom wouldn't tell him anything… but he had lied about everything else… so why was she having so much difficulty believing that he would tell someone all her secrets? Oh, she just didn't know anymore. If only she hadn't been so stupid to send a valentine in the first place…

Ginny put her hands to her flaming face at the thought… that damn valentine. She hadn't even thought about it since she'd seen the diary in Malfoy's hand. For a few moments there, it had the most embarrassing experience of her life, but it no longer matter as soon as she saw that little black book. And now Harry had it!

The rest of the day passed in a complete haze… in fact, if it hadn't been for her new friends leading her around, she would never had known that class was over and that it was time to head back up to the common room. Of course, that had been a bad idea.

Fred and George, while they weren't there, had heard about her valentine in unbearable detail from everyone who had been there and were now singing it all late afternoon. Soon the two of them were singing to the rest of the common room—all of which laughed until they were all clutching their sides. Harry's face had remained a beet-red color all evening, and seemed to be wishing that he could just disappear. Not that she blamed him for that… but she had more important things to deal with.

'_I need to talk to him, but how am I supposed to ask without him getting suspicious?'_ she asked herself, again and again. She needed to tell him, warn him, about the diary and what it could do… but how on earth was she suppose to do that? She couldn't even talk to him without stuttering like an idiot. But if she told Ron…?

But the memory of what Ron had told her came back. She remembered how he told her that the one responsible for all this would be caught and be expelled. _"They'll catch the nutter who did this and have him out of here in no time-"_

Expelled. She would be expelled and she knew it. How could they do anything else? She had no proof that it had been Tom who had made her do all that stuff other than her word and what good was that? They would take her wand from her and snap it half before they sent her home… never to return to this beautiful place. And then Mum and Dad would be so disappointed and ashamed of her, and all her brothers would pretend that they didn't have a sister anymore…

Because it was her that had set the monster loose on the others. She had already attacked two students, a ghost, and a cat… of course the whole family would be ashamed of her. Maybe they'd be so ashamed that they would want nothing more to do with her and force her to live as an outcast from the wizarding world… she gulped… or maybe even go to _Azkaban_…

She remembered when Dad had been forced to go there once because of his job and he came back looking so pale and shaking…

Her father had to be one of the bravest people she ever knew, after all he can stand up to Mum, and yet he was reduced to a shivering wreck. What was she going to do? What on earth was she going to do?

She came out of her worries just as Fred and George came to the end of their final chorus and Harry seemed to finally have enough. He picked up his bag, got up from the armchair and headed straight for the stairs. "I'm just tired. I'll turn in early," Harry said in answer before Ron or Hermione could even ask the question. "G'night."

He fled up the stairs, and her brothers let out roars laughter.

"Tired, indeed!" Fred chortled sarcastically. "I'm sure he is! Really, who's he think he's kidding?"

At those smug looks on the twin's faces, Ginny finally lost it. She grabbed the nearest thing she could find, a textbook, and threw it across the room and hit Fred. He let out a shout of pain just as she scooped up another book and heaved it with all her might at George who had been looking around trying to figure out where it came from and was slammed in the fast with a large dictionary.

When they saw her they got angry. "Ginny…!" George began, but she was too upset to care that everyone was watching.

She glared at them both and hissed to them. "It's _not_ that funny! I'm sure that you both get a kick humiliating other people like this! It's a wonder you didn't end up in Slytherin with how poorly you treat everyone! Haven't you jerks realized that you're jokes aren't funny anymore? They're cruel!"

She was so upset with everything else that had been happening to her lately, that she just couldn't hold it in anymore. She was only vaguely aware that everyone was staring at her with wide eyes and slack jaws. "Just shut up for once in your lives," she finished weakly.

Fred looked like a goldfish, his mouth opening and shutting without any sound coming out. George was staring at her as if she had suddenly sprouted fangs and a tail.

The reckless rage that had engulfed her just moments ago was quickly fading away and she had just become aware that everyone was staring at her. Before she did anything else she might regret, she drew herself up and hissed, "If you _don't_ mind I'm going to bed before you try to make anyone else's life more miserable!" with her head held high, she stomped over to the girl's dorm and waited until she was out of everyone's else sight before she ran up to her bed and cried her heart out on her pillow.

*Later*

Ginny spent the rest of the evening crying in her room. She made an attempt to go downstairs for dinner, but after the outburst she had in the common room, she decided that she would rather starve to death than be humiliated again and face her brothers.

Not that she regretted what she said to them. She had watched them for years mock Ron and teased everyone else around them. She hated it. Sure, most of their jokes were funny, and they were great comic relief when the mood was serious, but they just go too far. They just don't know when enough is enough.

But right now she had more important matters to deal with. The top of the list being the fact that Harry now had Tom Riddle's diary. No matter how hard she tried, she just could not figure out how he possibly could have obtained it.

"I mean, I threw it in the toilet!" she said out loud as she gripped her hair in frustrations, going over hundreds of possibilities… each as unlikely as the next.

Now that Harry had Tom, she was terrified that he had figured out how to use it. And what if Tom told him all her secrets? All about her worries and fears and… she gulped… her feelings for him? Or worse… about how she was involved in the attacks. What if Tom told Harry these things to try and frame her as he did Hagrid? Even if Harry didn't, there was a chance that he would turn it in to Professor McGonagall, or Dumbledore? If they got their hands on the book then she knew that she would be expelled for sure…

Ginny hugged her pillow to her chest and she cried a bit more before she heard a knock on the door. A bushy brown head of hair peeked through the door.

"Ginny, can I come in?" It was Hermione.

Quickly wiping her eyes on her sleeve she answered, "Sure, Hermione."

Hermione quietly closed the door behind her and walked over to stand next to her. "Ginny, are you ok? I just wanted to make sure that you were ok before I went to bed. You know we're all missing you downstairs?"

"You are?" Ginny questioned suspiciously, raising her eyebrows. "How could you? I mean, I lost my temper and yelled at the twins and…"

"Oh, I heard," Hermione nodded with a rather feeble grin. "I think the whole castle heard you. But it's ok… someone had to say it to them. I wanted to tell you that I agreed with you completely. I have noticed that they can be just as cruel as well as funny when I met them. Did you know last year, me, Harry, and Neville lost a hundred and fifty points for Gryffindor and they gave us such a hard time?"

Ginny's jaw dropped. A hundred and fifty points in one go? "What did you three do?"

Hermione blushed as she sat down next to her on the bed. "Oh, the three of us were caught out of bed one night."

"That's it?" Ginny demanded. "The twins have never lost that much in one night! And they seem to have made it their mission in life to get into trouble!"

"Yeah, well, we made McGonagall angry," Hermione laughed a little distractedly. "Thinking back, it was our faults. Me and Harry were trying to—ah—help someone and we got caught. Neville had come after us trying to warn us that Malfoy was planning on getting us caught… and well… long story short we got caught. Anyway, I always thought it was rather hypocritical of them to give us a hard time after all the points they lose. They were especially cold to Harry on the team. They refused to talk to him—called him 'The Seeker'."

"Jerks," Ginny hissed. "What hypocrites! They think they're so funny, but they don't know when enough is enough." Ginny looked back at Hermione. "Where is Harry anyway?"

"Hiding, I think," Hermione said, looking uncomfortable. "I really don't think that he liked Fred and George's singing either."

"Brilliant! Just brilliant!" Ginny groaned and flattened her face against her lumpy pillow. "He must know that I sent it to him. I can't believe this! I'll never be able to show my face to him again!"

Hermione put one are around her shoulders and began stroking her hair in a motherly way. "It'll be alright, Ginny, you'll see. Boys… they're completely oblivious to what goes on, for most of the time. They don't notice the same things that girls do. Including how we feel about them," she said with a hint of sadness, as though she knew what she was talking about.

Ginny raised her head from her tearstained pillow. "Really?"

A look of concern swept over Hermione's face. "You've really had a hard time this year, haven't you? I guess boys aren't the only ones who have problems noticing what's going on."

Ginny gulped, thinking about the last few months and felt as if she was about to be sick. "You have no idea," she whimpered.

"Ginny, what's wrong?" Hermione asked worriedly. "I know that you're upset over more than just a valentine."

"I–I can't tell you, Hermione," Ginny said, looking away.

Hermione looked surprised and said, "You can tell me anything, Ginny. I know that this year has been tough on everyone, and I'm sorry that your first year has to be this one. I want to help you, but I can't if you don't tell me."

Ginny wanted to tell Hermione so badly about everything that happened. About Tom and the diary, and how he had been manipulating her with it. About her nightmares and the attacks, and how scared she was…

But how could she? Hermione could never understand…

"I just don't know what to do," Ginny finally cried, leaning into Hermione's shoulder, as she hugged her. Hermione must've understood because she didn't push it, and just let her cry there until she fell asleep.

*A few months later*

At first, Ginny was terrified that the worst had happened, and Tom had betrayed her. But Harry seemed to be the same way he always was. He never treated her any differently than normal… he was as polite as he always was to her… smiled and gave her a hello when she walked by him… he was just… Harry. Most of the time, he, Ron, and Hermione ignored the rest of the school—keeping to themselves. Never before had she been so happy for him to ignore her. Perhaps she _was_ worrying about nothing.

It was so much nicer and easier for her to believe that Harry had avoided writing in the diary. That maybe he thought that keeping a diary was too girly for him and he had just tossed it out. It was an empty and a very old diary after all and he didn't seem to be the type of person to write his secrets in a book anyway. But no matter what she told herself, she would lay awake at night and worried about all the _what ifs._ Tom had fooled her so easily…

But then again, Harry wasn't her. He wasn't a silly little first year, with no one else to talk to. He had friends and wasn't so lonely and self-pitying that he would be so desperate for someone to talk to that he would need the diary. He had friends already. He didn't need Tom.

But Tom was so…

She rolled onto her side, staring at the curtains and became lost in thoughts. She remembered, as if from another life, the story of _"The Warlock's Hairy Heart"_ and how the warlock had taken out his own heart and had been able to hide it away. She suddenly wished that she could take out what was inside her heart… the worry… the fear… just to be unable to feel all these terrible feelings that were hurting her so badly.

With a sigh, she rolled back onto her back and tucked her hands under her pillow as she stared up at the top of her four-poster. Well, she couldn't get rid of her heart, and she didn't want to. She couldn't sit here forever doing nothing… she had to figure out what she was going to do.

Harry had the diary, no doubt about that. But if he wasn't writing in it… _'Bu__t what if he is_?' those dark thoughts interrupted her. She growled to herself and pulled her pillow from behind her so that she could scream into it without waking any of the other girls. _If_ he wasn't writing than that meant that there shouldn't be anything to worry about. If no one wrote in the diary, Tom was helpless, and all the attacks would stop—she was sure of that. Soon, this year would be over and when the Mandrakes were ready in the spring, then no one would ever need to know about that she had been involved in this mess.

Ginny daydreamed about that long-awaiting day for a few minutes before she went back to her despairing thoughts.

On the other hand, Harry had the diary, and if he _was_ writing in it, that would mean that it would only be a matter of time before Tom got to him the exact same way that he had gotten to her. The monster would escape… only this time, _he_ would be the one forced to help Tom do it.

If she was wrong about this, then someone else could get hurt because she was being a coward. But what could she possibly do about it? All she could think of was to just steal the diary back—but what then? Even if she got it back, what was she going to do with it? She would have to get rid of it again… make sure that no one found it… but she had already tried that and Tom only came back. She didn't know how Tom had done it, but somehow he'd rescued himself from the toilet and put himself into Harry's hands. And he had to be the _last_ person that she wanted to get involved in this.

The thought of getting the diary and Tom back only made her feel like she was about to be sick again. She gulped down the bile in her throat as a haunting thought floated across her brain. Could she bear to keep it and not write in it? Ginny shook her head hard and pushed that disgusting thought out of her mind right away. She knew Tom now. She knew what he was and what he could do. She wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. She would have an advance over Tom this time… she could beat him…

But Harry surely wouldn't be tricked like she had? Surely they would both be safest if she just left it where it was for now. But she would have to keep a close eye on him—make sure that he was safe. And as soon as she got proof that he _was_ writing to Tom… she would have to act…

And so for the last few months, she had told herself every waking second that Harry was fine. He wasn't acting strange at all. He was still gracious and went to classes and ate at mealtimes with everyone else… Tom wasn't getting to him. She was safe. They were both safe.

But with each passing day, her fears and worries only seemed to grow. And she knew that she couldn't keep lying to herself. These were only little details… ones that no one would notice… but she did. She knew that Harry _wasn't_ fine. He seemed worried, distracted, and unhappy. He hardly spoke to anyone but Ron and Hermione… he seemed to walk around in a slight daze as if he wasn't sleeping well at night.

She would watch him pick at his own food during meals, and in the common room she would watch him from over the top of her textbooks when she was supposed to be doing her work.

But all that changed one evening when she watched him and Ron doing their own homework in the corner of the room. Her brother looked up at him once he put down his quill and said, "Come on, mate… maybe you're just thinking too much about this."

Ginny tried to focus on her essay on a cure for boils for Snape, but her ears were listening to every word they said. "I mean, what makes you so sure that he was telling you the truth?"

She heard Harry sigh and replied, "I don't know anymore. I mean, why would he have made all that up?"

She looked up at them just as she picked up her essay and began to fan it to make the ink dry faster. Ron snorted. "I don't know. But that Riddle person just seems to dodgy to me, mate."

Ginny thought that her heart had stopped beating for a moment and accidently tore her essay in two. She couldn't believe it. He said Riddle… that could only mean…

While the two of them were in deep conversation, Ginny almost ran for her dorm. This couldn't be happening… Harry had figured out how the diary worked and he had talked to Tom. How many times and for how long she didn't know… but he didn't go to any of the teachers or confront her about anything…

So that could only mean that he didn't know that she was involved with the attacks—yet. So either Tom really hadn't told him anything about her, or Harry had only just started to write in it. Either way, she knew what had to be done. She had to stop it happening. She knew what it was like, losing bits and pieces of your life, and watching as everything came crumpling down around you.

Just the thought of getting that diary back scared her to death but what other choice was there?

Maybe, because she knew Tom, and she knew what he did, she could withstand it just long enough to get rid of the blasted book before he tried anything. Harry didn't know what Tom could do and if he was writing Tom then it would only be a matter of time before he also fell under his spell. He won't realize what he was doing until it was too late. All she had to do was get the diary away from him as soon as possible and Harry would be out of danger. At _any_ cost. If anything happened to him because of her she wouldn't be able to forgive herself.

*Later*

While, Ginny knew what had to be done; the question was how? Although it was all she could think of anymore, she just didn't know how she was going to get the book back without anyone noticing. She constantly thought of the horrors Harry would find if Tom had decided to tell him anything, and her grades were slipping again because of it.

Her first attempt was almost a disaster. She had tried to go through Harry's bag during lunch while he and Ron were distracted by the food. Luckily, it had been Hermione who saw her going through it. Later she gave her a stern talking to.

"I know that you really like Harry, Ginny. But honestly, going through his bag like that? Don't you think that you're going a little too far with this?" Hermione lectured her in the hallway in an undertone.

"At least I'm not the one who sent Lockhart a Valentine," Ginny said defensively. Now she didn't think that Hermione had been silly enough to actually send anything to Lockhart, and was taken aback when she saw Hermione turning red at that.

Ginny's second attempt was almost was almost as bad as the first one. Because Harry was spending so much time training for the next match, she thought that it would be easy enough. Just wait until the locker rooms were empty, sneak in, and look through his bag to find the diary and then get out before anyone came back. So one day she had secretly followed everyone down to the pitch, and waited until she saw all seven players leave the lockers before she took her chance.

She slipped out from her hiding place underneath the bleachers and sprinted inside. She never been in the Gryffindor team locker rooms before and she looked around the worn looking walls, draped with scarlet and gold banners… the image of a Gryffindor lion was right behind a small blackboard filled with moving arrows and letters…

She shook her head hard. She had a job to do. And so she glanced around and spotted the lockers in one corner of the room. She didn't know how much time she had, so she quickly searched through each one—hoping that she could find Harry's quickly. She searched until she finally found his…

She had spotted his cloak and bag sitting in one of the middle lockers. Sighing in relief, she quickly grabbed in and opened it. She dumped all the contents out… a few quills, ink bottles, some spare parchment, a couple textbooks… even a chocolate frog card… but no diary.

She bit her lip. So Harry wasn't carrying the diary around with him like she did. Then where was it? She knew that Harry knew how the diary worked by now… so he must be keeping it in his dorm! Just at that moment she could hear the faint voices outside.

"Wood! Look at that sky! It's going to rain! And I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we're not playing in the pouring rain again! Last time I caught a cold!" she heard her brother George called.

Panicking, she scooped up all the things that she dumped out, tossed them back into the bag and shoved it back into Harry's locker. She could hear that the voices were louder now—she had only seconds left before they came in here. Suddenly she spotted the back door of the room and sprinted to it. She had just closed the door as the team entered.

"Fine," she heard Wood say through the door. "But this only means that all of you had better be here right after class tomorrow. No questions! We have our match against Hufflepuff next week and we need to be ready! Agreed?"

Ginny overheard the team groaned in agreement to Wood's request as they began to put away their gear. Not wanting to be seen, she pressed herself against the door, hoping that they wouldn't take this way out. To her greatest relief, they didn't. She waited patiently until she heard Harry and the team finally pass by and there was quiet.

She didn't move however. She was petrified. In fact, she might have been better off if she really were Petrified. At least then she wouldn't have to deal with everything that was happening. She wouldn't have to worry about Tom or how the boy she cared for so deeply was now in great danger. In some ways, she envied the people in the hospital wing that she'd gotten too.

Realizing that she couldn't stay here, she got up to her feet and sprinted back to the castle. She now knew that her best chance was to sneak into the boy's dorm and steal the book back when no one was there. The biggest problem, was that there always seemed to be somebody in Harry's dormitory… but then, the day before the Quidditch match, her chance came.

Harry and the rest of the team were having one last training session. Ginny sat in a chair in a dark corner of the common room, pretending to read a book and waiting. She watched as Harry joined Fred and George after dinner for Quidditch practice. All the other boys who slept in that dorm were scattered throughout the common room working on other activities. Ginny took careful account of where everyone else was… Hermione was checking over Ron's homework… Seamus and Dean were playing a game of Exploding Snap, while Neville was reading a book for Herbology.

This could've been her only chance. She waited a few more minutes, just in case someone suddenly needed to go up to their dorm and get something… but they hardly paid attention to anything that was happening around them.

She could do this—she had to do this. So she cautiously got up from her chair and stretched, and headed slowly towards the girls' dorm stairs. Trying to act like she was just going upstairs to her dorm, but before she did, she took one last glance at the busy common room, to make sure no one was watching. Before she lost her nerve, she darted up the staircase to the boys' room. Since no one called her back, she assumed that no one saw her.

Though she couldn't see anyone as she neared the second year dorms, she continued to creep up the stairs as quietly as she could, stopping only when she came to a door that was labeled, _Second Years. _She paused in front of the door and knocked softly, praying she hadn't missed somebody.

Nobody answered so she turned the doorknob.

The door slowly creaked open and she slipped inside—leaving the door open by just a hair so that she could hear if anyone was coming. Then she looked around. Right away, she knew it was their room as she noticed all of her brother's Chudley Cannons posters pinned one of the four posters, and various pictures of their family on his night table. She walked to the center of the round room, looking carefully at each one of the beds and tables, trying to recognize Harry's. For a horrible moment, she thought she was going to have to go through all of them when suddenly a flicker of movement caught her eye. Then she realized that the movement was from a wizarding photo on one of the nightstands.

It was a single picture of a young man who looked almost identical to Harry, and a pretty woman with red hair and green eyes. It had to be… she walked over to it and picked it up to get a better look. While she never saw them before, Ginny knew right away who they were. It was easy to see where Harry got his good looks from—he was the spitting image of his father. If this was any indicator—Harry was going to be real handsome when he got an older. Ginny's eyes then went to the woman next to him—she could only be Harry's mother.

She was very pretty. And her vivid emerald eyes that she had passed onto her son were shining with laugh as she laughed alongside the man. They looked so happy together…

She put down the photo and looked back at the bed where she could see his pajamas lying at the foot of the mattress. She held the shirt up, holding it to her nose, taking in his familiar scent—almost like a warm musk and broomstick polish.

Seeing Harry's things and the one picture of his parents struck a chord in her, she was suddenly overcome with sadness to the point of tears again. Aside from his friends and her family, Harry had no one else in the world. She looked up at the picture again and realized that he would probably give anything to have his parents back.

She briefly thought of what she would've done if she lost her parents or any of her family for that matter… she couldn't imagine it… she couldn't picture a life without her family…

It couldn't have been easy on him this year. Almost as soon as he arrived at Hogwarts, he became blamed by all the other students for being the Heir of Slytherin. And they had continued to do so all even after all this time. She vaguely wondered if Harry would share the same fate as Hagrid, and suddenly she realized that this was all because of her… and Tom. She had to find the diary now, and end this before he lost anymore than he already had.

Ginny started at the bed, looking over, under and between the mattresses, eventually tearing the bedclothes off completely. Then she rummaged through his night table, and pulled all the contents from its drawers including the drawers themselves. Extra quills, ink bottles, sweets, rolls of parchment, and Exploding Snap cards were flung everywhere… but the diary wasn't there.

The more she thought about Harry talking to Tom and reading the diary, the more frantic her searching became. At first she had been careful with everything… but was soon reduced to just tossing things out of the way in her hurry.

She practically ripped the books apart, trying to see if the diary was in one of them but only succeeded in tearing them in half. Books thudded, ink splattered, and pages flew everywhere. But still she couldn't find it. She dove for his wardrobe and went through all the pockets of his robes, turning them inside out. She snatched his cloak so quickly that it ripped. She couldn't spare the time to feel bad—but there wasn't anything in any of the pockets except a few Chocolate Frogs—nothing. No cheap little diary hidden in the folds.

'_What if he has it right now?' _she thought in horror as she shoved the mattress off the bed…now close to panicking. Desperate, she wrenched up the lid of his trunk and was going through a jumble of disorganized knickknacks. She heaved aside Travelling with Trolls—causing pages to fly apart, tossed aside mismatched socks, a silvery cloak that she didn't pay too much attention to, a chess set, a few galleons, assorted sweets, and-

_FINALLY!_

There it was at the bottom of the trunk. She snatched up the diary and started to open it, but then slammed it shut. She didn't want to even look at the pages.

Instead, she stared at the mess she'd left behind her. All of Harry's things were scattered over the bed and the floor. Clothes, books, parchment and linens were everywhere. The photo of Harry's parents that she had just dropped was right in the path of a pool of spreading ink.

She leapt up and scooped it too safely before she carefully placed it back on the night table. She didn't know how many pictures Harry had of his parents, but she didn't want to see any of them destroyed because of her. She wanted to try and clean up the unbelievable mess she made, but there was no time. She had been pushing her luck for long enough and knew that if she stayed any longer, she would risk being caught.

'_Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry… you have no idea how sorry I am,' _she thought guilty as she slowly began backing away._ 'But you have to understand… you don't know what kind of danger you were in. I had to… I'm sorry.'_

With a heavy heart, she scrambled to her feet, pocketing the diary in her own robes, and turned away from her mess and slipped out the door. As she headed back down the stairs to the common room , she felt an overwhelming sense of relief that the diary couldn't hurt Harry anymore… but also frightened that the diary was in her possession again.

But then, she heard voices coming up the stairs. Panicking, Ginny spun around her, looking for an escape route. She was able to slip into another empty dorm room—keeping the door opened by a crack so that she could see who it was. She watched Neville walk up the stairs past her—knowing that she probably had only seconds, she raced back down the stairs at top speed.

When her friends asked her where she disappeared to, she only replied that she had to go and get something before she changed the subject.

**(If you were stealing something to protect someone you loved from an unseen enemy, would you be able to do it? Poor Ginny, I'm sure that she must've felt so guilty for all this but what else could she do? Next chapter: she confronts Tom about what he told Harry. Hope you all liked this one and I'll update again as soon as I can.)**


	19. The Return of Tom

**Chapter 18: The Return of Tom**

The next day, right before the Quidditch game, Ginny had slipped away from her friends on their way down to breakfast and dashed to a random classroom. After making sure that she was alone, she slid down to sit on the floor and flung the diary away as if it was about to bite her. She felt light-headed, as if she had just gotten over a terrible flu—and even had to fight the urge to be sick.

But one thought was going through her mind…

_Tom…_

_Tom…_

_TOM…_

His name throbbed in her head as if there was a foot long spike being drilled into the top of her skull… just having the diary back in her pocket made her feel… dirty. She'd thrown it away so quickly after realizing what he was doing to o her that she didn't bother asking him why he had done all these terrible things… why this had to happen to her…

So now here she was… sitting on the floor with the diary sitting in front of her almost innocently. But she knew that it was anything but innocent. She had been dreading this from the moment she saw that Harry had found the diary. But she also knew that it would come to this—that she would have to face him again… not that she liked it. Terror rushed through her whole body at the thought of what Tom might have said to Harry as well as what he might make her do if she ever wrote to him again.

But now was the perfect time to check. Everyone was on their way to the Quidditch pitch for the game between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff and no one would be inside—she didn't have to worry about attacking anyone. She had to do it now. She resolved to be strong and fight him with everything she had. She was stronger than a book!

'_It won't be so bad if I just write in it once_,' she argued with herself. _'Just one more time and once I get some answers, I'll find a way to get rid of him once and for all. __Now that I know what he can do, I won't let him trick me like that again… I know I can fight him this time.'_

She had to do it… she had to know what he said to Harry and how he was making her attack these people. Feeling the worn-out pages against her fingertips again… it was if she'd never thrown it away. That idea made her sick to her stomach. She would have to find out how he came back as well so that she would be sure to get rid of him for good.

She pulled out a random quill and inkpot before, with a shaky hand, wrote on the too-familiar paper.

_Hello Tom._

The ink disappeared, and came back in his usual elegant scrawl._**Well, hello again, Ginny. What a surprise to hear from you after all this time… though not a pleasant one I must admit…**_

_Just shut up. I know what you made me do all this time and I'm not going to fall for you again. I don't care what happens—I'm never trusting a word you say!_ She wrote all this so angrily that her writing was barely readable. Not that she cared—as long as he got the message.

There was a pause of several seconds, while her ink sank into the page and disappeared. Then slow, thoughtful handwriting appeared. **And yet, here you are writing to me again… ready to pour more of yourself into me. Why is that?**

_Not because I __wanted__ you back. If I had it my way, I'd have thrown you to the giant squid. I don't need you anymore. I have friends of my own!_

**Well, it's good to hear that you can do something all by yourself without having someone to cry to about it later.** These words just seemed to be sneering at her, which only made her only angrier.

_I only took you back to make sure that you don't hurt anyone else like you've done to me!_ She wrote furiously._ As soon as you tell me what I need to know, then I'll… I'll… I don't know, but I'll find some way to get rid of you._

**Well, that's a good reason for me not to tell you anything now is it?** Tom wrote back and with every word that he wrote back, it seemed to make her fury grow.

_SHUT IT! I'm not going to go until you give me some answers!_

**If it means that much to you, Ginny… fine, I'll tell you. Now, just what is so important that you just had to get me back? After all, the last time you wrote to me, you said that you were done with me.**

_Just two things, _she scribbled furiously. _First off…_ _WHY, Tom? Why did you make me do all these terrible things?_

He took his time in answering. And when he finally replied, it felt as if someone had punched her in the chest.

**Because I could and it was easy. And because **_**you**_** were the one who wanted it to happen in the first place. Don't you remember?**

Her mouth fell open in horror. _She_ wanted this to happen? _What are you talking about? I never wanted this to happen! I didn't want to hurt Colin or the others!_

**Oh, I'll admit that it was mostly for me to experiment how far I could make you go. But you wanted to make more friends and I had to step in to stop that. After all, if that should happen, then the less time you would've spent with me… the less time that I could… **_**get to know you. **_

Ginny felt shudders rack her body violently as if a violent and cold wind had just blown through; but was unable to tear her eyes away from the pages.

**But don't you remember? How you were so angry? Like how that cat got you a detention when you weren't even doing anything? You wanted that cat out of the way so that it couldn't get you in trouble like that again. And you also hated the Hufflepuff boy because he'd shouted at Harry when he had only tried to help him. It was only by chance that ghost had been there with him—though I suppose that boy should count himself lucky for that. Even with that Mudblood Creevey you hated because of all those pictures he kept taking when you told him to stop. You **_**did**_** want them to suffer, Ginny. You wanted them out of your life… I simply stepped in to grant your wish.**

Ginny felt as if something broke inside her and wrote with a shaking hand, _I don't believe you! I never wanted that! How could anyone ever want that? This is just sick… and evil! That's what you are aren't you? Evil?_

**I told you before, Ginny.** He wrote as if he was talking to a dim child.** There is no such thing as good and evil… there is only power and those too weak to seek it. You my dear are one of those weaklings. **

Ginny gripped her hair—fighting to stop herself from screaming—just not sure what to think anymore. But more writing appeared on the page before she could think up anything to say. **But I thank you for all the help that you've given me… after all, if it hadn't been for you, none of this ever would've happened.**

Ginny felt the urge to rip the book in half and she was practically stabbing at the book with her quill. _Did you talk to him? _

_**But whomever do you mean, Ginny?" **_

_You KNOW who I mean Tom! _She wrote furiously. _Did you talk to Harry or not?_

**You are not the only one who has secrets, Ginny.**

_Out with it Tom! _She both wrote and shouted out—her voice echoing around the empty room. He hesitated for a moment before he wrote back as if he was enjoying teasing her.

_**Why yes… as a matter of fact, I did speak with young Mr. Potter. And what an interesting conversation it was…**_

Ginny felt her insides freeze and could've sworn that her heart had stopped beating for a moment for time seemed to have stood still. So her worst fears had been confirmed. _I don't have time for your games, Tom,_ Ginny wrote frantically. _I want to know what you said to him! Out with it!_

**Temper, temper,**Tom wrote back as if he was laughing at her. **Funny how eager you were to get rid of me. You didn't care who I might find instead. Though honestly, I was quite surprised when I found myself conversing with Potter himself, instead of you. Of all the people out there who could have picked me up, it had to have been the one person I wanted to meet most of all. What luck? Though I confess, that I might've had an interesting talk with… what was her name again...? You know that Mudblood Granger?**

Ginny felt what little color in her face fade away for a moment when he mentioned Hermione. _Hermione has nothing to do with this, _she snapped back, wanting to get back to the matter at hand._ And besides, she is my friend…_

**Somehow, I doubt that. **Tom interrupted her.** You say that… but tell me, aren't you just the tiniest bit jealous?**

"Jealous?" Ginny repeated out loud incredulously. _Why would I be jealous? She hasn't done anything to me…_

If Tom could laugh, he would be now for his words seemed to be mocking her. **So naïve. Maybe you don't realize it, but don't you think that it's possible that deep down you secretly hate her. You don't like the relationship she has with Harry Potter, am I right? How is it that this Mudblood **_**'friend'**_** of yours manage to steal away, not only one of your brothers, but the one boy that you fancy? What is it that she has, that you don't?**

A pang of guilt and anger crept into Ginny's mind at those words. What that true? Did she really actually hate Hermione for that? Sure, she was a little jealous of her at first when she heard Ron talk about her all summer. And perhaps she didn't like her when they first met… but she had always been so nice to her. And she and Harry weren't even dating… Hermione told her that herself. They were just friends…

Weren't they? Harry didn't talk to many other people other than Ron and Hermione… he was open with her in such a way that he was never with anyone else… they might be friends now, but that doesn't mean that they won't become something more than that later on…

Just thinking about the two of them sitting together under the mistletoe and sharing a kiss, going out on dates, or even just holding hands made her angry. She shook her head hard to bring herself back to the present. Tom has started writing again.

**Go ahead, Ginny… tell me that I'm wrong.**

Ginny wanted to… she wanted to tell him that he didn't know what he was talking about and it wasn't true… but…

Tom continued, **I am curious though. How did you retrieve the diary in the first place?**

_I stole it back._ Ginny wrote, suddenly remembering why she was here. _Now tell me what you said to him!_

**Clever girl you are, Ginny. While I grew bored by all your mind-numbing worries and woes… I had missed you. Well, if you must know, I simply showed him what happened fifty years ago.**

_So you lied to him like you did to me and told him it was Hagrid?_ she asked heatedly.

_**Oh, I never lied. I simply showed him what had happened. I never said otherwise… and let him try to figure it out.**_

Ginny felt ill at the thought of Hagrid being expelled from Hogwarts, framed for something that he didn't do. _You are disgusting, Tom._

**And there goes that temper of yours again. You are never going to get what you want from me by acting like a spoiled child. That is what you want isn't it? For everyone to look at you like a mature and clever adult isn't that right. Maybe you could try to act like Granger? **Tom continued to taunt her.

_What did you tell Harry about me?_ So close to losing her mind from his twisted words.

_**Whatever do you mean?**_ He asked simply. _** Are you referring to who owned the book before he did? Are you afraid I told him all your secrets like how you feel about him? Or perhaps who had been strangling the roosters?**_

_Both._ Ginny wrote… to scare to say anything else.

**Then no. I did not tell him anything about you, or any of your secrets. He only wrote in me once. I showed him what happened fifty years ago and that was it.**

She didn't know how; but she knew that he was telling the truth. A wave of relief swept over Ginny's suddenly sleepy thoughts. Harry didn't know what she had done; but Tom went on.

**Though I was planning on letting a few things… slip if he ever wrote back… **Tom's writing became slower now, taunting her once again. **But he never did. But you have Ginny…**

A drowsy haze was starting to overcome her body, but Ginny struggled to keep writing. Knowing that if she fell asleep, he would take control. _What are you talking about?_

**I need you Ginny. We still have a great deal of work to do before I let you go. While I have grown much stronger thanks to you, I still need to act through you to get anything done. I need you for only a few more tasks… **Tom wrote.

Fear swept over Ginny, as her eyelids began to droop against her will. _I don't care what you have planned. I won't do it._

**Oh, I think that you will… I'm afraid you don't have a choice in this.**

Ginny began to lose her fight for consciousness. She was so tired that keeping her eyelids open was a struggle. She desperately wanted to drift off into peaceful sleep… but she knew that it she did, Tom would win.

_Why?_

**That is **_**my**_** secret, Ginny. But for now we have an important job ahead of us. You know, I've always wanted to meet your friend... Miss Granger. And why not now?**

"NO!" she said, unsure if she was speaking or writing now. _She's got nothing to do with this! You leave her alone! Ron and Harry won't stand by and let you get away with this…_

**Yes, I know,**Ginny heard him say.

_They'll find you, they won't stop until they find the truth—and you're done…_ she said softly, no longer able to control the wonderful warmth surrounding her.

**I'm hoping so Ginny.**

And before she could do anything else… she blacked out.

*Dreaming*

_It was too late. Ginny found herself in another dream, only this time it was far more vivid than any she had before. She was lying on the floor with one hand on the diary and the bottle of ink had tipped over, spreading ink over the stone like black blood. She saw her hands suddenly push herself back to her feet…_

_Her legs swung around and her feet carried her away from the classroom, picking up the diary as she went and holding it close to her. She wanted to shout out, so loud that she would wake herself from this horrible nightmare, but her mouth wouldn't move. She tried to stop moving, but she no longer had any control over her own body. The only think that she could do was watch helplessly._

_She walked down two flights of stairs and through a secret passage down to the second floor—__where was Tom forcing her to go? What did he want her to do? She continued to try to stop herself—but she might have tried to move a mountain for all the good it did. __She felt as though he had put her in a full-body bind and was watching everything fly past her. She didn't have a hope of fighting him; b__ut there was a small comfort. E__veryone was still at the Quidditch match so Hermione was safe for now._

_She pushed open a door; it was like she was trying to see through a mist, but she realized she was in a bathroom again. She approached one of the sinks and reached out to touch the tap. And then it was someone else who opened her mouth and hissed, __"Open…"_

_No… no… it wasn't her voice at all. This one was deeper, colder… and came out in a horrible hiss. It was someone else's… it was Tom…_

_Then what little was left of Ginny inside the eleven-year-old girl's body recoiled in terror as an enormous hole appeared in the floor. Her mouth opened again and Tom spoke through her again, __"Come to me… come to kill…"_

_If she had any control, she would've been crying from terror at what she was forced to watch. For a moment, Ginny saw a face in the cracked, dirty mirror. It was a face she didn't recognize. Her eyes were empty and cold in the midst of her ghostly face giving her the appearance of a vampire. Her mouth was curved in a triumphal smirk that wasn't hers. Even her hair wasn't as bright as it once was… she looked as if she were a zombie or something that recently died._

_Ginny watched in terror as the sinks began to shift, and a gaping hole appeared in the floor before her. She wanted to shut her eyes, terrified of what she might see come from the chamber if she opened them. First she heard the loud hissing sound and she could feel something sliding up towards her. Everything around her seemed to swim in a fog of colors and sounds… she felt the scaly skin of some great, scaled creature that dipped its head before her, so that she couldn't see its face, only the top of its head and a long neck…_

_It brushed up against her, causing her to shudder again with fear. _

_But she knew that it wasn't going to stop, she knew. She knew that Tom wasn't going to let her go. He was going to use her body as he wished and he wouldn't let her go until he was through._

_And there was nothing she could do about it._

_She could feel her feet being forced to walk as if she were nothing but a puppet, and the puppeteer was making her leave the bathroom. She was no longer able to make anything out as she was trapped in this swirl of darkness and colors…_

_She heard the sounds of screaming coming from somewhere and the hard thuds of something heavy falling to the floor. For a moment, she thought it was odd that she continued to hear a scream, and then she realized that it was her own. Out of breath she forced her eyes to work again and look down the apparently endless corridor, afraid of what she might see. She heard a voice in her head…_

_A cold and deep one that seemed to purr… "You've done well, Ginny… only one more task that you need to do for me… and then it'll be all over…"_

_She was able to see through the haze… lying there was the exact same girl she had caught kissing Percy. But her horrified eyes were fixed upon the second body that was lying next to her. It was a girl, whose brown eyes were frozen upon a petrified face… still as a statue. And fear coated there…_

_It was Hermione._

_It was more than Ginny could handle. She felt sick, dizzy, and at once she fell to the floor, fainting_ _dead away; screaming all the way._

*End of Dream*

Ginny's eyes snapped open as she woke up… not having the slightest clue to where she was until she heard the fainting moaning coming from behind her and the dripping sounds of water. She could move again… she tried with her fingers and toes, testing them out making sure that she could use them. They were hers once again. Tom was gone… for now.

She rolled over and pushed herself up from a wet and cold floor. Her knees shook as she grabbed the side of the sink and tried to pull herself up.

She was back in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. She gasped pulled her aching body up and slumped against the sink… the diary was lying next to her. Staring around her—not knowing what had just happened or what else to do, she scooped up the diary and ran. She had prayed that it had been only a dream… that no one else had been attacked. She ran upstairs… trying to find someone, anyone… but knew that it was too late.

With a sick heart, and tears falling down her face, she knew that Hermione and Penelope Clearwater were now lying in the hospital along with her other victims.

**(Poor girl. Just when she thinks that she's in control, Tom pulls the rug out from under her. She is now being forced to commit more crimes. Next chapter: she goes to apologizes to Hermione and comes across an old item that we all know and miss. ;-) Sorry for taking so long, but I've been stuck in finals week. Glad that it's almost over… Monday is my last day… at least until I have to go back to summer school for a business class. Hope you all enjoyed it.)**


	20. Mirror, Mirror

**Chapter 19: Mirror, Mirror **

Ginny was in a state of shock. There was no point in hoping that it had just been another dream… she knew better by now. And so now there were two more innocent people were lying in the hospital as if they were statues. And it was all because of her. She knew that now.

Stunned, she just sat there in one of the chairs in the corner of the common room—only vaguely aware that everyone else was talking around her. She felt dirty… contaminated… as if she was a disease that might infect these healthy people. She didn't deserve to be sitting here with them… not after…

She looked up to see the whole Gryffindor team sitting there talking with each other—Oliver Wood especially looked crushed, as if his whole life was over. She had heard that the Quidditch match was cancelled before it even started… another thing that she was responsible. It was probably one of the only few times that they could've forgotten about the attacks and threats this year… and now they were all crammed in this room like sardines and more scared than ever before.

Just a minute ago, Professor McGonagall had arrived through the portrait hole with Ron and Harry in tow and she was about to give an announcement.

She'd never seen McGonagall look this concern, and with a great effort, she forced her ears to listen to what she had to say. McGonagall then pulled from her pocket a sheet of parchment and began to read the new rules. Basically it said that until the one behind these attacks was caught, none of the students were not to be out of their dorms after six o'clock. And all students were to be escorted by a Professor to their classes, the bathroom, even the Great Hall for meals between the classes. Otherwise, they were to be in the common room around the clock.

Confined to the common rooms… escorted to lessons and meals, even the bathroom… new curfew at six… no longer allowed to wander the halls on your own… nobody was to be given the chance to wander about on their own. No one was going to be at risk to attack.

To be honest, she was grateful for this… even if Tom made her call the monster back again, she wouldn't be able to harm anyone else this way. Not unless he made her bring it back up to the common ro—no! She shook her head hard. She wasn't going to listen to that dark voice that reminded her of Tom. She would have to put a stop to it before she attacked again.

Suddenly Professor McGonagall started speaking again so she looked up to see what it was this time. Her tone was grave and she spoke loudly so that no one would have been able to miss what she said. "I need hardly add that I have rarely been so distressed. It is likely that the school will be closed unless the culprit behind these attacks is caught."

Ginny felt cold waves of terror going through her body at that; but she wasn't through yet. "I would urge anyone who thinks they might know anything about them to come forward."

Ginny gulped. She wanted to… she wanted to come forward and tell them what happened. For someone to help her… but how could she tell them what was happening without them also blaming her for these attacks? She had no way of proving it wasn't her.

When no one else said anything, McGonagall sighed before she left. As soon as the portrait hole shut, everyone else began talking. Lee Jordon stood up on one of the tables and began shouting about chucking the Slytherins out. Ginny didn't hear.

_The school will be closed… because of her…_

"Ginny?"

She jumped at the voice, and looked up to see Fred looking at her. She relaxed slightly as he sat on the arm of her chair and looked around the room. "Horrible isn't it?" he asked grimly. "And I was looking forward to a Quidditch game too…"

At least he wasn't beating around the bush. She could only nod numbly.

"And now another tragedy. Our dearest brother is practically catatonic sitting there," he commented when she didn't answer.

"Ron?" Ginny looked around, scanning the room for any signs of him. She finally spotted him and Harry huddled in a corner on the other side of the room, talking in low voices. It broke her heart to see how shaken Ron was, but Harry… he looked tired. More than tired—rather—exhausted. From where she was sitting, Ginny could see the droop of his eyelids and the shadows under his bright green eyes. Those beautiful eyes somehow brought out the green in the dark smudges, making them look like bruises against his pale skin.

"No, no, Percy. The Ravenclaw girl was a prefect, you know. He must have known her," Fred interrupted her thoughts. Startled, she glanced around for Percy—having completely forgotten about him and how he would be taking this. He was sitting in one of the armchairs near the fire and was staring into it, completely lost in though. He wasn't even bothering telling off Lee or any of the others… He looked crushed, and only Ginny knew why. Penelope was his girlfriend.

"She'll be ok thought," Ginny said fiercely. "They all are. Soon. And then it'll be over…"

'_Will it?' _that nasty little voice asked her. _'And how many of them know that it was you who had done it? One of them was bound to have seen you and tell them as soon as they wake up.'_

'_Shut up!' _Ginny told that voice.

"Yeah," Fred's voice said as if from far-away. "Well," he got up from the arm of her chair and headed towards George. "Might as well try to cheer everyone up. It's only going to be a matter of time before Percy snaps out of it. So I shouldn't be wasting this golden opportunity."

Unable to bear the atmosphere in the common room another moment, Ginny wretchedly got up and headed straight towards the dormitory. She passed by Harry and Ron—she tried to say something to them… tried to tell them how sorry she was, but as soon as they looked up at her. Her words were caught in her throat and she just ran upstairs.

And now she stood in the doorway and looked at the peaceful, comfortable little room; feeling anything but calm and at ease… If this room reflected what was going on inside her, it would be twisted and warped… and she would be screaming in terror at what was happening.

They should have been safe here. She should have been safe here. But because of one little black book, that wasn't happening was it?

The diary. She reached into her pocket and pulled the vile book that she still held. She stared at it—such a hatred she never knew before began to fill every part of her soul. With a cry of rage she flung it away from her. It hit the floor and skidded until it was under her bed. And that was where she left it.

Not even bothering to change, she crawled under her covers and closed the curtains—feeling as if she had just shut herself off from the rest of the world. That was where she started to cry. Ever since Tom came into her life, everything was falling apart and out of her control. The second she gets rid of him, things slowly start getting better and she started to return to who she was before. Now that he's back, she's falling back into that downward spiral of misery.

Tears filled her eyes and she didn't bother trying to hold them back. No one could see her anyway so she cried. She cried for everything that had happened to her—she cried for those poor people in the hospital, and for the school that might be closed… but most of all, she cried for her own stupidity. How stupid she was to have ever trusted Tom in the first place. What she wouldn't give to go back to that day when they returned from Diagon Alley and showed the diary to her parents.

She cried until she no longer had any tears to shed and curled into a tiny ball. She was fast asleep by the time all the other girls came into the dormitory room.

_*Nightmare*_

_She was trapped in a cold-dark place… she was in a dark sea, floundering as she tried to keep her head above the cold water. Waving her arms around, swallowing water that suddenly turned into something black and slimy and with a jolt of horror, she realized that she was being pulled under. The darkness was swallowing her whole._

_She could hear a cold laughter echoing around her as she fruitlessly screamed for help and pull herself out. She took one last breath of air—and then she was pulled down into the darkness and away from the surface…_

_*End of Nightmare*_

Ginny woke up with a start. She thrashed around and sat bolt-upright gasping for air. She jumped and twisted around in terror when she realized that she was still in the darkness… until she could see a glimmer of moonlight coming in through the curtains. She grabbed the cloth and almost pulled them down trying to get to the light.

She was safe. She was still in her dorm room. The sounds of her friends gentle breathing coming from the other beds and she gasped in relief. She looked down at herself and saw that she was drenched in sweat. It was a dream… or rather a nightmare…

She looked at her clock.

1:52 a.m.

Ginny got out of bed and to the floor. She fished under her bed for the book and closed her shaking around it maliciously. She hauled it out and gripped it in both hands. She stared the faded cover until her eyes burned and her teeth hurt from clenching them together. Just looking at it made her sick to her stomach.

She had to destroy it. It was the only way that this would end. Gripping the book she turned to the door and snuck past the other beds to the common room. The room was empty like she had hoped and there in the fireplace, the coals were still warm.

Gripping the diary she stood right in front of the fire and held the book out to it. But suddenly she stopped just before it touched the embers. Her arm quivered, as if a battle were raging down among the very cells.

'_Do it!'_ her mind shouted at her. '_Burn it now!'_ But her fingers wouldn't let it go. She tried to convince herself to just dump it into the fire and go back to bed…

But she just couldn't. Why she couldn't, Ginny couldn't let it go. No matter how much she wanted to see it burn up before her eyes, her fingers refused to let go of it.

And it scared her. She was scared at how much control Tom had over her.

She finally withdrew her hand from the fireplace and felt more tears forming in her eyes. Why couldn't she do it? Why wouldn't Tom let her go? Before she could think of an explanation she heard something moving behind her. She jumped and spun around… Percy was there in the shadows of the common room, fallen asleep in the armchair.

"Percy?" she asked softly.

His eyes opened sleepily and focused on her. "Ginny?" he said softly, and Ginny couldn't tell that maybe that he thought that he was dreaming. She quickly tucked the diary back into her pocket as she came over to him.

"Percy?" she said again. She had to say it… to let him know even if he thought that it was a dream. "Percy… I'm so sorry. It's my fault…"

He rolled in his seat and Ginny knew that he was definitely out of it. "No, Ginny… it was Ron who broke Fred's toy broomstick."

Ginny smiled watery at him as he curled up more comfortably and fell back asleep. She knelt down next to him and looked more closely. To her amazement, she saw that there were traces of tears on his face… he had been crying too. He obviously must've been waiting for everyone to go to sleep before he felt that it was safe.

He may put up a strong front, but she knew that Percy was sensitive at heart. Why else would he be so embarrassed when she caught him and Penelope kissing? She whispered, "You may be a rule-loving, pompous, ambitious git… but you are still a good older brother, Perce. I wish I can say that more often…"

She looked around and spotted a blanket that someone left down here lying over one of the couches. She sighed as she got up and grabbed it before draping it over her brother. "It's my fault," she whispered to him as she looked at his face. "Percy… I wish I could tell you how sorry I am…"

She then heard a noise coming from the portrait hole. Panicking, she quickly hide underneath one of the tables, thinking the monster coming back in to get her… but no… it was only Ron.

She sighed in relief before she held back a gasp of horror. What was he doing outside? He could've been attacked! Though a part of her reasoned that she was still upstairs and hadn't gone anywhere so she couldn't have attacked him. But what if Tom had taken control again and…?

Before she could finish her thought, another figure appeared. She almost groaned in exasperation—it was Harry and he was carrying something silvery in his arms. She tried to get a closer look at what they were doing but she heard Ron whisper, "Well, that settles it right? We are so doomed. Thanks to Malfoy's dad now Dumbledore's gone. Just what we needed… now we're going to be picked off one by one…"

Ginny's jaw dropped. Dumbledore's gone? Gone where? What did Malfoy do? She looked to Harry, hoping that he would explain what was going on, but he didn't say anything. His face held an unreadable mask and silently gestured Ron to the staircase. "We'll find a way to finish this," Harry promised him, though his tone didn't sound confident. "We just don't know enough yet. We just have to wait and see if we can find any spiders to follow tomorrow."

Spiders? What on earth do spiders have to do with any of this? She almost came out to ask them what the heck they were talking about, but they were already up the stairs. She remained where she sat—under the table for a few minutes before she clenched her fist in helpless anger. She had a chance to get rid of Tom… but she could do it. "I'm so sorry Hermione… everyone…" she whispered; "I never meant for any of this to happen, I swear. Tom made me do it."

She sniffled because she knew that this wasn't over yet. She wasn't sure how she knew, she just did… Tom was after Harry now. Not caring about herself or the risks of being caught, she got up and ran for the portrait hole.

Ginny ran through the corridors of Hogwarts, feeling as if she was running in circles. Her mind straining for a place where she was sure no one would find Tom again. Someplace where she could hide the diary for good… a place where no one would ever find it.

She couldn't risk a bathroom again; after all, Tom somehow found his way into Harry's hands. And he had to have been the last person on earth she had wanted to find it. She was determined to get rid of it, properly. She hadn't gone though stealing it back and risking everything to just hold onto it. _'T__here has to be a place,' _she thought to herself wandering around the seventh floor and sticking close to the shadows in case anyone came by. _'A __place to hide where no one could find it.'_

She had been so focused on trying to find a place to hide the book, she almost missed it. She saw it out of the corner of her eye and doubled back to see what it was. It was a door. She looked around in confusion… standing besides the ugly tapestry of trolls clubbing a wizard to death there was a door that she had never seen before.

Blinking in bewilderment she looked back at it. It was large and rounded, and made of a strong oak… with a large brass handle. Curiosity getting the best of her, she reached out and grabbed the handle and pulled it open.

Cautiously, she stuck her head around the door to see what was in here. What she saw made her jaw drop. As she stepped inside and closed the door behind her, it was like she had stepped into a cathedral that had been turned into a junk room with mounds upon mounds of items that lay in massive piles reaching the faraway ceiling.

The room was filled with everything you could think of—and even things you didn't know existed until you saw them here. It was as if this room had appeared for her just to be able to hide the diary here.

She wandered passed some old and broken furniture, thousands of text books that were tattered and graffiti, some even looking like they had been taken from the library—she smiled at the thought of Madam Pince knowing about them. There were towers of ruined cauldrons stacked on top of each other, some completely melted and worn through. There were also old robes and hats flung here and there as well as broken telescopes and wands some heavy-looking broomsticks… obviously from owners who were too lazy to get rid of them properly. There were ink-stained quills and torn bits of what looked like homework and empty ink bottles scatted across the floor.

But every which way, there was something so amazing that she couldn't help but stop and stare at it as she wandered along the aisles. There were some crumbling oversized chess pieces stashed here, some chipped bottles of old potions—one of them was smoking, a bunch of broken pieces of casing that looked like dragon eggshells, swords rusted clean through that looked ready to fall apart if you even picked them up—she shuddered at a large and bloodstained axe was propped up against the wall and had a bad mental image of Nearly Headless Nick at his beheading.

Passing on, there was an enormous troll that almost made her scream until she realized that it was stuffed, a broken cabinet that looked as if it had been dropped from a great height, an ancient potions cupboard with an ugly warlock bust sitting on top, a dazzling silver tiara that winked at her and… she saw it.

Standing there in the center of the room was a tall, ancient mirror that stood about ten feet high. Temporary forgetting about Tom for the moment, Ginny walked towards it. She couldn't explain it—but she felt a strange draw coming from it… almost as if it had been waiting here for her and it was softly calling her name. Even in this darkness she had been able to read gibberish words etched along the top.

_Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi_

Not even bothering to understand what that meant, she wandered around it, trying to figure out what it was for. No one could have a mirror like this unless it did something right? Who needs a mirror this big? She wandered around it, but couldn't see anything on its back. Finally, she was looking at the dirty glass and stepped in front of it. She looked at her reflection and got a shock.

Because it wasn't just her reflection looking back at her… there was another figure, standing tall and handsome beside her, his jet-black hair sticking up at the back as he smiled at her with those piercing green eyes through his circular rimmed glasses. Ginny felt herself go crimson as she turned on the spot, expecting to see him standing there, ready to explain.

"Harry I…" but she stopped as quickly as she started.

Harry wasn't here. She was alone.

There was nothing but air and a junk standing there behind her… Harry wasn't there. She had been thinking about him almost constantly… was it possible that she was just finally losing her mind? Was she in another dream or one of her fantasies?

She looked back at the mirror and there he was again. Harry Potter was standing beside her reflection. Again she looked behind her, but unless he was invisible, he wasn't there. She watched Harry's reflection walk right up until he was standing next to her—she moved her arm out but didn't feel anything. That confirmed it. But why was she seeing him here?

The Harry in the mirror was smiling at her; a smile that only made her pale face heat up. It was then she realized that he looked older… he was taller and more handsome. The Harry she knew looked more cute than handsome. But if this mirror was anything to go by, he was going to be drop-dead gorgeous when he grew up. The Harry here had to have been at least seventeen…

She stared at him, his green eyes sparkled as he smiled back, and her heart was pounding in her ribcage. To her amazement, her reflection turned to look at him and smiled back in happiness… she looked older to. If Harry was seventeen, then she had to have been sixteen in the mirror. Her hair was longer, and she had a slim waist, delicate slender legs and fair skin. For the first time in her life she felt beautiful…

Ginny walked closer to the mirror and stared at the two of them. She was unable to look away. A bit of her knew that this wasn't real, but she couldn't stop herself. The reflection was holding her in his arms and they were both smiling in pure bliss.

Ginny let the diary fall from her limp hand right next to her. Not that she paid any attention and sat down in front of the mirror to watch. She watched as the two of them spun around in a graceful dance, her arms around his neck and his on her waist. And then it happened…

Mirror Harry leaned his face closer to Mirror Ginny and her lips met his halfway. Ginny felt her jaw drop and could've sworn that she felt her heart stop for that one kiss. Her face burned as she sat there, longing to trade places with the girl in the mirror. To be far away from this castle and Tom… away from all the horrors that life had in store for her… to be with the boy she care for so much in a place where nothing would interrupt them. A place where time stood still and nothing bad could happen. To dance and kiss like no one else was watching and be happy…

The pair only smiled, oblivious to the rest of the world as they continued dancing. Ginny groaned, trying to fight the uproar of jealousy every time that Harry leaned back in for another kiss. She knew that this couldn't be real—it was too good to be real…

Why was this happening? Why was she seeing this? Why could her own reflection have what she never could? She just sat there, wishing that Harry would kiss her in real life like how Mirror Harry had just done. It was obvious that this was not real; it was merely what wished for, what she desired most.

She watched as the two reflections continued to dance, simply enjoying each other's company with no need to talk. A single tear fell down her face. This was almost torture to her. She knew that it wasn't healthy. But she couldn't help it. She would spare a glance at him every chance she got… he was like wine to her. Later, she would regret looking at him. But, like an alcoholic, she kept coming back for more.

She didn't do it for a reason, it was just because she couldn't help herself. Especially these days when she was now at the mercy of the diary… just thinking about him gave her hope that things were going to be alright. If he could get through all the hardships in his life, then she could as well.

The reflection was bittersweet; it showed her deepest desire of what could be, but there was no way for her to ever get it. But how? Did this mirror show the future? She looked at the happy couple and wondered—or maybe wished—that this was a vision of things yet to come…

She had grown up with six brothers. She had to share her whole life. She had never been a selfish person; how could she be when she had lived in a house with such a large family? They had learned to share _everything_. They had never had much since there are so many of them so there was never a way for her to be selfish… she loved her family… her parents and each one of her brothers.

She was never a selfish person until _he_ came along… the one thing that she wanted she could never have. She sighed unhappily as she placed her hand up onto the glass and whispered pleadingly, "I don't know if this is real. But please… please let him like me someday… please, please, please…"

She continued watching, absolutely captivated, as her reflection and the boy she loved together. She watched for so long, she finally fell asleep in the room and into a wonderful dream of becoming her older self and dancing with him.

**(I know that Ginny finding the mirror most likely didn't happen… but no one ever said it didn't. ;). Anyway, in my story it did. And for those of you who are going to say that this is obsessive, think of it from Ginny's point of view. She needed someone there to keep her hold on sanity. And Harry gave her hope so that's why her infatuation turned into almost an obsession. As for the next chapter, Ginny comes out and tries to tell the boys about the diary. How did she go missing that day? Hope to have it up soon. And please be kind if you're going t review. Thank you.)**


	21. Not Begun to Fight!

**Chapter 20: Not Begun to Fight!**

Bright sunlight was shinning on her face and Ginny opened her eyes tiredly, though feeling better than she had since she lost Tom. She blinked a few times as she looked around her and she sat bolt-upright. Gasping for breath, as if she had been running for miles, she looked around and realized that she wasn't in her bed… but still in that strange room.

She was still surrounded by the mountain of junk—and she could see light coming from somewhere. There must be a window or something around here. It took her a minute for her to remember what happened last night and she looked in front of her to see the beautiful mirror was still there.

Where her wonderful dream was still continuing to play—she and Harry continued to dance and enjoy each other's company.

'_They look so happy,'_ she thought to herself sadly at the happy image before she recalled why she was here in the first place. She turned to her side to see that the diary was still lying next to her.

She frowned at it, for some reason, she found herself less afraid of it than she had been before she spent the night here. It was as if this mirror had given her some newfound inner strength that she didn't know she had.

She picked herself up from the floor and slowly walked away, leaving the diary there where it lay. Fighting the urge to go back for it. She was leaving it here if she had a say in the matter… and hopefully, no one will find it here in this mountain of junk.

*A few days later*

"Why did they do this?" said a nervous third year to her friends. "Why take Dumbledore away now?"

"Yeah, we need him here," a tall girl asked before she glanced nervously over her shoulder as if she thought that the heir was there about to attack her.

"I heard that Malfoy's dad's behind it," a boy said to them.

"That spoiled brat?" she asked coldly. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Yeah, now he's strutting around the castle as if he stopped these attacks!" he answered angrily.

"And how much do you want to bet that he blackmailed the other governors?" the first girl asked.

It had been like this for the last couple days. People talking in the halls about Dumbledore's suspension and what was going to happen to them. Ginny couldn't help but feel responsible; after all, if it hadn't been for her, Dumbledore would still be here and she would be enjoying herself with no one worrying about being attacked.

Ginny had been able to put her mind away from Tom for the next few days in light of the exams that were due. Every morning when she woke up, she would roll miserably out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash and change.

She scrubbed, and washed, but she just couldn't seem to wash away how dirty she felt. Frustrated and sickened with herself she would eventually just throw the bar of soap away from her until it hit the wall and broke apart. Not that she cared.

Ever since Dumbledore left, the school was in a constant state of fear. So that was what Ron meant when he said that Dumbledore was gone. Her hatred for Malfoy went up as she waited with the rest of her classmates for the next teacher to escort them to lunch.

She then heard of them say, "I tried to visit Colin in the hospital wing. But Madam Pomfrey won't let anyone in anymore. Now that Dumbledore's gone, McGonagall doesn't want to take any chances. They think that the heir would try to finish them off now that Dumbledore isn't here anymore."

She sighed miserably, this was all her fault. She'd let it go too far and she knew that she had to tell someone. She was in way over her head and sinking ever deeper… and now she'd hurt two of her brothers because of her stubbornness. She had hurt Hermione, Ron and Harry's best friend and Penny was—is—Percy's girlfriend. Her brother had finally fallen for a girl and she took that away from him.

The looks on her two brothers faces these days have only made Ginny only feel more guilt-ridden than ever. She'll never be able to make up for all the damage she'd done. But a few days before exams, she found Ron at breakfast, twitching slightly as though he was relieving a very bad memory.

"Ron, are you okay?" she asked in concern; she knew that look and what it meant. "You look like you just saw a spider or something." Ginny knew her brother only looked like this whenever a spider was around… thanks the teddy bear incident years ago.

But at the word _'spider' _Ron jumped and looked around him as if he thought there was some giant spider here to grab him. "Sp–spiders? No… no, I just was thinking about Hermione. I just wish they would just hurry up and wake her up," he said, not quite looking her in the eye.

Ginny bit her lip. Poor Ron… he was taking this so hard. But what on earth could she do to fix this? If she told them… she shivered, unsure of what to do anymore. Somehow she had been able to leave the diary back in that strange room and had been fighting Tom's influence… but who knows how much longer she'll be able to fight it? Who could she possibly go to?

She couldn't go to Professor Dumbledore because he wasn't here anymore with the school governors had suspending him. Professor McGonagall was in charge now. but that thought didn't make her feel any better. Was she just supposed to march right up and tell Professor McGonagall that she was the one who had turned some kind of monster on the students? Oh, no, she couldn't-she just couldn't… just thinking about it made her shake and palms sweat.

She hadn't slept in days… she had been too afraid to shut her eyes in case Tom might get at her in her dreams and make her go after someone else again. She'd been terribly lucky that nobody had died… but if she gives in one more time, she had a feeling she wouldn't be as lucky.

"Have you been up all night again, Ginny?" demanded a harsh voice, causing her to jump. She looked up to see that most of the students had already left lunch including Ron. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't noticed. She looked around to see that it had been Percy who spoke.

Percy was staring at her. "Ginny," he said in an appalled tone that she didn't like. "Have you been bothering to take care of yourself at all? You look terrible. Look, I want you to go up to the Hospital Wing and let Madam Pomfrey fix you up."

Ginny felt anger boiling in the pit of her stomach as well as panic at the suggestion. "No-no, I can't!" she couldn't risk letting Tom enter her mind again. "I'm fine Percy!" she said firmly and got up. "I'm just worried over everything's that's happening! Aren't you?"

"Of course I am!" he said coldly. "But I also take care of myself. You look like you haven't slept in days!"

"I've been up studying for the exams," she said stubbornly and she felt her hatred for herself grow. Once again she was lying… lying and keeping secrets. Why did she have to find that stupid book?

"Look," she said, "I'll go to bed early tonight ok? Just let me handle this!" she then trying to walk past him. "I'm fine!" Ginny repeated, though she wasn't sure if she was telling Percy that or herself. Ginny now hated everything about herself. If only she hadn't been so stupid as to trust in Tom—and to let him become a part of her life—

"Ginny-" Percy said angrily, and he looked ready for a shouting match. But before he even opened his mouth again… that was when it happened.

**Ginny… **whispered a dark voice as if from the back of her mind. Ginny jumped at the deep tone and spun around. "What?" she cried out.

"What?" Percy repeated, clearly thinking that she was talking to him. "Ginny you aren't taking care of yourself! Keep this up and you will get sick!"

"Not that," Ginny said impatiently, "I mean… whose voice was that?"

"What voice?" he demanded as if he thought she was dim. "There isn't anyone else here! Ginny if you think you can get out of this by playing some kind of game then…"

**Ginny…**

She gulped so quickly she made a strange croaking sound.

Percy noticed and stopped ranting in surprise, "Ginny…?"

But she was no longer listening to him…

Had she really just heard Tom's voice?

"Ginny?" Percy demanded more impatiently when she didn't respond.

It was gone. That voice was gone… she could hear nothing but her own panicking breathing and Percy's voice that sounded like an annoying buzzing sound. She turned and ran from him, leaving her brother behind shouting at her, but she couldn't care less. Ginny was going crazy… she had to be… she could've sworn that she heard Tom's voice inside her own head! Of course, she never heard his voice before… but the voice she heard definitely wasn't her brother's. It was deeper, and more… relaxing… the kind of voice she expected someone like Tom to have.

Every day seemed more difficult than the last, as though Tom was trying to summon her back to him… like a master would beckon to his dog.

**Ginny…**

Ginny stopped dead in her tracks.

**Ginny…** the voice was more impatient now. **Come to me…**

She caught her breath. There it was again… it _was_ Tom's voice… it had to be…

Was she truly going mad?

'_I don't care anymore what you can do to me,'_ she lied inside her head, not having the slightest clue to if Tom could hear her. I'm going to tell someone… I don't know who but… she gripped her hair tightly as if hoping to tear it out. The only thing she could think of was that little black book lying there in that room in front of the mirror and…

Her eyes widened. Harry. Of course, Harry! He wasn't nearly as scary as Professor McGonagall, and after last year… yes, Harry would know what to do! The image of what the mirror showed her shown more clearly in her mind than anything else had. _'Harry,'_ she thought defiantly. '_I've got to tell Harry. If he can't help me I don't know who can!'_

She wasn't sure if she was imagining it, but she could've sworn that she heard an echo of disdainful laughter from within her own mind.

How could she have ever trusted Tom?

The next day she made her way down to the Great Hall, staggering and having to hold onto the walls for support—the whole world seemed to blur around her as if she was in a dream. The last few nights of lack of sleep were taking their toll. But she was able to make it to the Hall on her own… though she was so dizzy, she could hardly make out anyone.

As soon as she walked over to the Gryffindor table, Professor McGonagall rose to her feet at the teacher's table and announced. "I have good news."

She looked up at her as the whole hall fell silent, wondering what she was going say. "Professor Sprout has informed me that the Mandrakes are ready for cutting at last. Tonight, we will be able to revive those people who have been Petrified. I need hardly remind you that one of them may well be able to tell us who, or what, attacked them. I am hopeful that this dreadful year will end with our catching the culprit."

Ginny went cold all over at those words. _The culprit_… that was her… and she could tell from McGonagall's voice, that it was clear that the culprit wasn't going to receive any mercy.

She was hardly aware of the cheers from the other students as she became lost in horrors of what was going to happen to her. They will know who did it. Her friends, the whole school, her family… everyone… even Harry was going to find out that it had been her all along… they would know without a doubt that it was her tonight. They won't understand… how was she supposed to tell them that a book made her do it? Yeah, sure… like they'll believe that. But she had to explain to them what happened before its too late, and she got expelled. She has to tell him.

Forcing herself to keep walking along the table, she spotted them near the end. Ron and Harry, both looking happier than they had all year, were talking to each other. Gritting her teeth, Ginny made her way over to where they sat, with Ron just saying, "It might be kinder to leave her where she is until they're over." Ginny didn't know what he was talking about, but that wasn't important now.

She took the empty seat next to them, and he glanced up at her. "What's up?" he asked lightly as if this was normal.

She tried to open her mouth… but it felt as if someone had glued her lips together and she couldn't stop herself from shaking. She looked up and down the table, praying that nobody but her brother and Harry were listening in, suddenly feeling dizzier than ever.

Ron looked at her. "Spit it out," he said sounding impatient.

She glanced at Harry, who was looking at her with his brow furrowed slightly as if he if was trying to remember something. Concentrating hard on not making eye contact with him even though she wanted him to hear this, she mumbled, "I've got to tell you something."

Harry's ears perked up, and he looked at her with more interest. "What is it?"

Her lip trembled. Confused and scared, Ginny tried with all her might to find the words to say to them.

Ron started to look annoyed. _"What?" _he said, urging her on.

Ginny opened her mouth, but her throat had closed up. She was trembling all over, shaking like a leaf, too nervous to do anything.

'_You have to do this,' _she told herself. _'Before it's too late. You'll regret it if you don't.' _Ginny opened her mouth, but could not even utter a squeak.

Harry leaned over the table to her and said in a very low voice, "Is it something about the Chamber of Secrets?"

Her eyes widened. Harry leaned closer towards her and spoke softly; giving her a comfort and strength in his words she'd never felt before."Have you seen something? Someone acting oddly?"

She finally forced herself to look up into his green eyes. Her resolve to tell them about her involvement with the attacks faded… instead, she had another desire. She wasn't sure she would be able to stop this, and she knew that there was no way she would escape without punishment… let alone expulsion. But she at least wanted to let him know how she felt before he found out the truth. To let him know just how kind he was and how wonderful she thought he was. She at least had to tell him her feelings before it was too late. Ginny drew in her own strength with her breath. She knew then that she could do it. Holding her breath, she looked straight at Harry and–

"If you've finished eating, I'll take that seat, Ginny. I'm starving, I've only just come off patrol duty," a weary looking Percy said behind her, making Ginny jump up out of her seat, and nearly falling over it. Any courage she might've had, completely left her. Ginny looked at Percy, not knowing whether or not he'd heard their conversation. Rather than find out, she turned and ran out of the Great Hall. Behind her, she could hear Ron complaining. "_Percy!_ She was just about to tell us something important!"

She couldn't face her friends now. She couldn't face anyone as she ran through the school, half blinded to where she was going. She darted down a side corridor and slumped into an alcove. She hugged herself tightly as she slid down the wall and hid her face in her knees and cried. She sobbed her heart out, not caring if anyone found or heard her.

She wasn't the same person anymore and she would never be the same happy Ginny Weasley again. She had become slightly gaunt and as pale as any of the ghosts. She lost so much weight and was longing to sleep… it was as if her very spirit was slowly creeping out of her body, leaving nothing but an empty shell of the person she once was.

**Ginny…**

She froze and was so shocked that she stopped crying.

**Come…**

"No," she whispered softly. She clamped her hands tightly over her ears, though it did no good because the voice was echoing inside her own mind.

**Come…**

"N-No," she whimpered.

But somehow, she felt stronger against him—able to fight him harder than she did before. More so than she had felt in a long time. Perhaps it was because she knew that the potion was almost done and everyone would soon awake again, even though it meant that everyone would know that it was her behind these attacks. Or maybe it was that she felt that indescribable surge of comfort, looking into Harry's eyes that let her fight back.

She could hear Tom's calls to her ringing in her head, and they were difficult to ignore. She had already given him so much of herself, it was impossible to know if she or_ HE_ was controlling her own thoughts. But she had to fight this overwhelming desire. She hated what she had become, but she hated Tom more for having caused all this.

Almost dreamlike she felt her body walking again… she could feel it, but was this time she was in control. She walked back up to the seventh floor and was so out of it that the next thing she knew she was in that room again. She wandered through the mess of junk to where it was. She knelt down to dig the diary from the floor.

She pulled out ink and a quill from her pocket. She let the bottle fall to the floor and ink splashed at her feet, staining her robes, but she didn't care.

_Tom…_ she wrote almost dreamlike.

**Welcome back Ginny,**he wrote back, even his handwriting sounded pleased.

Trying not to let herself slip into the anger she felt boiling up within her, Ginny allowed herself to feel slightly smug as she wrote, _Not for long, Tom. I've come to tell you it's over. The Mandrake Draught is nearly ready, and tonight all your victims will be freed again. Everyone will know who is responsible for all of this. And when they know it was me, you won't be able to hurt anyone else._

**And what of you, Ginny? Surely you don't want to be expelled? **Tom wrote haughtily.

_I don't care anymore,_she said, unsure if she had written it or said it out loud. But she knew she spoke the truth. She didn't care what happened to her anymore. She didn't care what Tom did to her so long as he was stopped. She would show them the diary and show them what Tom could do. She would take any punishment they had to dish out… so long as they did something about Tom, maybe they would take enough pity to not expel her if she confessed.

To her horror, she could hear him laughing from inside her mind and this time there was no mistaking that voice. She felt tears burning her eyes but she frowned and thought about all the rude names she could imagine.

**Now that is rude of you, dear Ginny,** his voice said inside her. **But I'm afraid to tell you that your plan to hand me over won't work. You see… thanks to you, I have grown powerful, far more than you can ever imagine.**

'_Tom, you need me. You can't do anything without me or the diary,' _she shot back, feeling braver.

**You would be right, **Tom admitted.** There was a time where that was indeed true. I couldn't have done anything without you or the diary… however, I no longer need the diary. Thanks to you, I am almost ready.**

'_Ready for what?_' she asked and he laughed again.

**Why spoil the surprise?** he asked in a teasing tone that sent shivers up her spine. **But rest assure that you will find out very soon.**

'_I'm not afraid of you. Not anymore,' _Ginny thought angrily.

**Oh, but you should be,** he chided as if he was talking to a child. **For you see… I am more powerful than you could ever imagine****you silly little girl, and soon you will see how right I am. I just have one final task for you to do, and then I will leave you alone… forever.**

'_Why do I doubt that?'_ Ginny demanded, though her heart leapt at the thought of him leaving and never having to hear his voice again.

She heard him laugh again and she felt sick. **Just come with me… and soon it will all be over.**

Ginny was suddenly spinning in a whirl of color, and knew what he was about to do. But before she lost conscience, she saw it once more…

She saw the mirror and the beautiful image that it showed her… that reflection was all it took.

She refused to fall back asleep. She fought his hold over her this time. "You won't take me without a fight!" she yelled out.

**(So it's about to happen. Next chapter: The Chamber of Secrets. What do she and Tom talk about? Hope you enjoy it, and for those of you who have been asking me about my Discovering the Legend stories, yes, I know they were deleted. But I've moved them to another site. It's all on my profile if you need to know where. Otherwise, I hope you liked this story… I'm thinking about five more chapters.) **


	22. Farewell, my Beloved

**Chapter 21: Farewell, my Beloved**

Ginny was fighting back with all the strength she had left. It was as if she was gravely ill and was fighting the urge to be sick… and Tom was a disease trying to take over her body. She could feel as if something was tearing her apart from within, and the pain expanded like some monstrous creature that was slowly strangling her and pulling her back down into that dark ocean from her nightmare.

She kept trying to gain control while ignoring the pain and fear; trying to block out Tom's horrible laughing voice in her head. But the best she could do was fight back hard enough to cause herself to stumble and drop to the floor. But almost at once she was able to drag herself back to her feet and continued walking no differently then how a marionette would do.

Onward she was forced to walk through the empty halls of Hogwarts—to where—she had no idea. She was also aware that she was still holding the diary in her hands, but to be honest, she wasn't sure if she was dreaming or not. With every passing second, she felt weaker and weaker… the only thoughts filling her mind as she continued her walk was that there was still a glimmer of hope. She just had to fight long enough for someone to find her and…

'_What are you going to do with me?' _she demanded, half angry half terrified, inside her head.

**All in good time my dear…** Tom's voice said with his horrible, dark laugh. **All in good time…**

She then mentally called him something so horrible that he only just starting laughing again. **Oh, I assure you… you don't need to do anything. It's simple really. I had been feeding off your fear and your own despair… your deepest secrets and that's what made me strong. I soon grew powerful enough to take control over you… that is how you were able to speak Parseltongue and set the monster lose onto your fellow classmates. **

Furious, she started insulting him—calling him every rude thing she could imagine… and she didn't stop until she realized that she was suddenly in a darkened chamber. Columns of eerie-looking serpents were surrounding her, and at the very end of the long and dark hall was an enormous statue that sent shivers up her spine.

As she looked up at the statue, she felt what little of her strength leave her and she crumpled to the stone floor of the Chamber, her body too weak to support her anymore. For a moment, the world faded before her eyes, and then it wavered back into view. Her hair spilled over her face and the dirty floor—so exhausted that she couldn't even lift a hand to brush it aside… her hair was the only color she could see in this sea of shadows.

The first thing she was aware of was a pinging sound, the sound of water dripping in a large cavern. She squinted up at the dim ceiling, but she couldn't even see it in this gloom.

"It won't be much longer now Ginny…" said Tom's voice. Ginny got ready to scream and curse at him again, but only this time she realized that his voice was no longer inside her head.

A blurred figure stood over her, black robed, black-haired. "H-Harry?" she whispered, straining to lift her heavy body.

The figure crouched down for her to see his face. She blinked several times… her vision now starting to blur… it wasn't Harry. This boy had to be at least sixteen and his hair wasn't as wild and unkempt like Harry's was as if he just got off his broom. He didn't have a scar on his forehead, and he wore no glasses, his dark eyes glittering in a way that Harry's never had. "Hello, Ginny," he said as a wicked smile spread over his handsome features and Ginny's eyes widened in realization.

"Tom," she breathed, a single jolt of fear wracked her body. She tried to get back up, but her whole body was so numb that she couldn't do more than raise her head. Knowing that she was going to regret this, she looked back up at Tom. As much as she hated to admit it, he was tall, and darkly handsome—though he was also transparent.

"What are you?" she croaked, noticing that she was shaking.

He just grinned evilly at her and she felt as if she was going to be sick all over again. How could she have ever trusted him? When he didn't answer her she then asked another pressing question.

"Where am I?" she asked weakly. Though she already knew where they were…

"The Chamber of Secrets. What do you think?" he asked her as her as if asking for her opinion. Terror wound its way around her heart, but she was so tired that she couldn't muster the energy to even scream… "Don't look so upset, Ginny," Tom said as he tilted his head slightly to the side. "You won't feel any of this pain for much longer."

"W-what?" she stammered in a frightened voice.

Tom's smirk only widened. "Don't you know, Ginny dear? I'm afraid that you won't be leaving this place. Even if your precious _Harry Potter_…" he spat the name as if it was something disgusting before he went on. "By some miracle manages to find the entrance, it will be too late."

Ginny was now struggling to breath, but she still mustered energy to speak. "You-won't… won't win." She was afraid at how faint her own voice sounded—as if it was a whisper spoken by a stranger. Was this what was left of her? "I might… might not be strong… enough to… to stop you. But he is!"

Tom only let out his laugh that made her hair stand on end. What on earth was he? He couldn't be human… he didn't even seem to be of this world.

"Oh, I beg to disagree," Tom said once he finished laughing. "As you can see, I no longer need you to survive." He grinned again. "I am almost there. A few more hours and I should be more than strong enough to deal with Potter. Oh, that's right…" he said in an afterthought as if he just remembered something. "I promised to return the favor didn't I?" he asked her. "I seem to recall promising you the one thing you wanted more than anything else wasn't that it?"

"I never… made a deal… with you!" Ginny struggled to say, her voice slightly stronger, but still faint. "I refused di-didn't I?" she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep talking. It was now becoming painful and costing her what little vigor she had left.

"Oh, I know," Tom chuckled. "I recall you rudely rejecting my offer. But still… I can keep my side of the deal whether you agreed to it or not. I have to say, you are much stronger than I thought. Your feelings for that boy have become far more than a silly little crush, and I suppose he has a power over you as well, though you're not aware of it. Whenever you thought of him it made it harder for me to take control. And because you had been able to fight, somehow our victims were only petrified instead of being killed. I then realized that there was only one person who could have the power to stop me, Harry Potter."

Tom stood up and began to walk around her in circles, as if he was a patient vulture waiting for his prey to die before he devoured her. "Until of course you began to suspect me, and tried to get rid of me! You stupid little girl. Did you honestly think that it would be that _easy_? But nonetheless, I'm amazed that you had been able to go through with it… at least until Harry found the diary of course. What are the chances of that happening? Of all the people in the school, he was the one who found me."

"Just what did… you do to him?" she demanded, trying to sound tough, but instead she only fell back to the floor, now so weak she couldn't move.

"Nothing that you think," he answered coolly. "Oh, but believe me, I had, of course, tried to gain his trust as I did with you. I had hoped that he would begin to open his heart to me as well. And I could have made good use of him too. But again, I underestimated both of you. Not only had he been able to just lock me away as he did, you had stolen me back. How surprised I was that you had gone to such lengths to have me fall back into your life."

"Sh-Shut it!" Ginny stammered. "I didn't do because… because I wanted to! I… wanted… just wanted to get… you away from him."

Tom chuckled darkly again. "Which goes to prove how _love_," he said the word love as if it was another disgusting word, "Is nothing but a weakness. Had you only gave him up and let him keep the diary, you wouldn't be here now would you?"

Tom then sighed. "Well, I suppose it really doesn't matter anymore at this point. I am now close to getting what I want. And if what you say about him is true, then he will no doubt find me soon enough, once he hears how his best friends' sister has been taken. He will figure out how to open the chamber. And once I get what I want from him, you will have what you always wanted, Ginny–Harry Potter with you, forever."

Ginny stared at him before she whispered the one question she wanted to know. "Why me? Why did you choose _me_?"

Another smirk crept onto Tom's young face before he turned his back onto her. "Frankly, my dear. To be honest, it wasn't _me_ who chose you. After I created this diary, I had fallen into a deep sleep until you started writing to me. I don't know how I ended up in your hands… but I am grateful. After all, you have already given me almost everything that I wanted from you, Ginny. But there is one last thing I need from you before I give you up. For you see… in order for me to no longer be a mere memory, I need… your life energy. You will have to sacrifice your life to give me back my own. And then you can rest… for good."

"No!" Ginny cried and tried to move, but her vision was going on her and she couldn't see anything but the blurry form of Tom Riddle. She had to believe that Harry could save her, but she had to fight back. "I won't let you!"

"You're in no position to be challenging me, Ginny," Tom answered unconcerned. "If you want someone to blame, then blame yourself. After spilling all your precious secrets and your deep feelings for that boy to me, my diary has become your heart. And you should never let your heart rule your head."

"You can't…" Ginny croaked, but she fell back onto the cold stone, now having to fight to keep her eyelids open as tears began to form.

"Oh, but I can," he said confidently. "And thanks to you, I can… and I will. Thank you, Ginny." He then turned back to her, his smile now twisted—looking more like a snake than a human in that brief moment. Ginny froze at his monstrous features and felt fear to such a degree that everything that has happened to her this year now seems to pale in comparison. She would've screamed if she could, but she couldn't utter a word.

"But to show you that I am capable of sympathy… you and Harry Potter can both share the same grave. This place," he held his arms out wide to the chamber and he then shouted out in a loud and triumphant voice that finally caused tears of terror to fall from her wide eyes, "Will be your _tomb_ to share for all time!"

Still desperately clinging to life—trying to breath—Ginny's eyes finally betrayed her and they closed, hating the fact that the last thing she saw was Tom Riddle laughing at her helplessness. Ginny felt the cold and wet stone bricks beneath her aching body as the rest of her slowly faded away back into the darkness. She went over in her mind what she could have done differently to stop all of this, but in the end, she could find nothing. She knew that this was all her fault… Tom was right about one thing… she had no one to blame but herself for the shape she's in.

Her only regret as Tom Riddle's last words echoed through her mind was that she hadn't told Ron and Harry the truth earlier that morning. Ron… Percy… Fred and George… mum and dad… Bill… Charlie… Hermione… Harry… and to her surprise, the last thing she saw were those beautiful, green eyes that she had grown to love so much in her mind's eye.

"I'm so sorry…" she spoke softly, in hardly more than a whisper, unsure of who she was talking to anymore. "Goodbye…"

And she faded down into the darkness… down… down… and down…

**(Ginny is now in the chamber and is close to death. Will her knight in shining armor finally come? And when he does, what is going through her mind? This story almost done and the next chapter—she wakes up after the villain and his pet had been defeated. Hope you enjoyed this short chapter.) **


	23. The Broken Puppet Strings

**Chapter 22: The Broken Puppet Strings**

After what felt like a lifetime of drifting through the seemingly never-ending darkness, Ginny could feel herself coming to again. The first thing she felt was cold… the kind of cold that you felt when you were sick with the flu and wanted nothing more than to stay underneath your warm blanket—only there wasn't any blanket here for her.

The next thing that she realized was that she was lying on a wet stone floor that was pressing in on her from all sides as if she was suffocating. What was this place? Her ears suddenly registered a strange sound… she couldn't recall what it was… it took her several long seconds for her to realize that it was the sloshing sound of footsteps through a puddle of water.

What was happening to her? Her brain was having trouble trying to focus on anything; it was as if there was a dark fog covering all her thoughts and memories. All she could recall was a little black book through this fog… and those pair of jade eyes…

Harry…

His face was another thing that she could recall. Why was that? Why did she feel this way about him? Was it because he was famous Harry Potter? She had a feeling that was how it started off, he was a rich and nice celebrity after all… but that didn't seem to be the case anymore.

She didn't think about his fame or his fortune… or even his scar. Somewhere along the line, she stopped thinking and caring about all of that. It was his eyes that she thought of. The eyes that shone with kindness and softness behind those glasses with their tiny sparkle of laughter whenever he listened to one of her brothers cracks a joke. The way his eyes smile at people he likes or glared with a spark of anger at those he disliked as if he was giving off a sense of raw power he was unaware of.

It was the way that he looked at everything, as if he was noticing every single detail; as if he could see something that no one else could see about a person she thought of now. That was the reason she could never look him in the eye… he can see everything, he had to be able to. She couldn't think of another explanation, and she never wanted him to see just how much she cared for him when she didn't even know these feelings herself.

She noticed that everything around her was eerily silent now. The footsteps had stopped… Tom's voice was gone…

She was completely alone.

That was when she realized how strange it was. There were _no_ voices. Tom wasn't there anymore… his horrible laughter that scared her to within an inch of her life was no longer echoing inside her head. Before, it had felt as if he had been living inside her and was slowly but surely taking over. But now his presence was… gone… as if he had left her. For the first time in months, she felt lighter. As if she had been carrying around a heavy stone inside her but that weight was now removed.

And she no longer felt like a zombie—she felt more like her old self. What was going on? Was she dead and freed from the burdens of being alive? But then why was she so cold? Was death supposed to be this cold? Was this a dream maybe? A dream of just falling into the darkness and being lost and alone? She didn't like that explanation any better. She didn't want to be alone anymore. She wanted someone, anyone other than Tom, here beside her. Just so that she wouldn't have to feel alone anymore.

She tried to force herself to come to… the wisp of fog were fading from her mind and she suddenly felt fear creep up into her stomach, a sudden pain went through her heart which was beating faster than it ever had before. Finally, her mind began to work properly again and she started to remember what had happened; the memories had been covered were now coming back to her. Tom Riddle and the diary. Having a secret she didn't want anyone to know, especially not Harry…

_No!_

And then it all came back in a rush, as if it had broken free from behind a great dam and washed over her. With it, a pain began to flood throughout her body as she remembered the worst part of it all…

The ones behind the attacks on the Muggle-borns… was her.

She burst through the darkness around her, the same darkness that had been pulling her do like in her nightmare; and as if she was breaking the surface, she started to breathe again. She could feel her body again, she could feel the cold and wet around her… the ability to smell—the air around her was of water, slime, and blood…

What happened? She felt like she had been set free from a prison. She could hear her heartbeat strong in her chest and beating loudly, as if to prove to her that she was alive. Finally, with as much effort as she could muster, she forced her eyes open.

It took several more seconds for her slightly hazy mind to remember how to see, and finally everything came into focus. Not that it helped. She was lying in the darkness again, only this time she recognized this darkness… the darkness in the Chamber of Secrets.

But Tom was no longer here. She no longer felt weak and tired, she could move again… and this time no one was moving her other than herself… it was like she had been a puppet whose strings had been cut. Her limbs trembled as she pushed herself up… she was _alive_. She felt like herself again, freed from Tom. She pushed her long, red hair out of her face and looked around her. Then she saw the black-robed, black-haired figure at the far end of the Chamber, and for one instant, she had to bite back her scream of fear.

_Tom…_

Was this another one of his sick mind games? He only let her think that she was freed from him only to take whatever hope she had? So that he could break her spirit once and for all?

But she was completely distracted when she saw what was lying sprawled across the dark chamber floor. A giant snake with long trails of blood falling from its empty eye sockets… while it's head was lying in a pool of blood with its neck was twisted disgustingly… dark red spread all over the upper half of its huge mangled body.

She stared at the thing with terror until the person she thought was Tom rushed over to her. Even in this low light, she could see his face… his wild black hair and the jade eyes that she thought of…

_Harry._

It was Harry… and he was here…

He was gasping for breath, covered in slime and—she felt a gasp in her throat—the sleeve of his right arm was completely soaked with blood. But he ran over and skidded to a stop right in front of her, in his hands, he held an old hat, which took her a moment for her to realize that it was the school Sorting Hat, and a long, silver sword stained with blood. His face was near-black with dirt and he was dripping in sweat. But his eyes shone with anxiety behind his glasses as he looked at her. She looked over the giant dead snake behind him, to the sword in his hands, and finally to the diary that was burnt and had a sizzling hole right through the center and dripping ink like blood.

_Harry!_

She burst into tears when she realized what had happened and confessed to him. She told him everything, not bothering to hide any detail after what he did for her here. "Harry-oh, Harry-I tried to tell you at b-breakfast, but I c-_couldn't_ say it in front of Percy-"

She was crying so much that she wasn't sure that he could understand her words, but she kept going on, trying to tell him how sorry she was, how she never meant for any of this to happen. "It was _me_, Harry-but I-I s-swear I d-didn't mean to! R-Riddle made me, he t-took me over-and-_how_ did you kill that-that thing?" she looked around her, as if afraid that Tom would suddenly reappear and kill them both. "W-where's Riddle? The last thing I r-remember is him coming out of the diary-"

She looked back at him and he was looking at her reassuringly. He held up the diary and said quickly, "It's all right, Riddle's finished. Look! Him and the basilisk."

She gasped for air as she stared at the book through watering eyes. It was destroyed for good. Tom would never torment her again… she looked back up at Harry and opened her mouth to speak, trying to ask him what had happened but he took her hand and tried to help her up.

"C'mon, Ginny, let's get out of here-" he said.

Her eyes widened at that and she realized what was going to happen to her now.

"I'm going to be expelled!" she cried out and Harry pulled her up. If she hadn't be so afraid of about to be kicked out of school she would've been turning red that Harry had wrapped an arm around her shoulders and was gently leading her out of the chamber. "I've looked forward to coming to Hogwarts ever since B-Bill came and n-now I'll have to leave and-_w-what'll Mum and Dad say?_"

Through her tears, she noticed for the first time that there was also someone else in the chamber. It was a beautiful red-gold bird soaring above them—leading them right to the exit, but Ginny couldn't think about it now. They had to climb over the dead body of the snake, and her stomach turned at the corpse under her feet.

"Let's get outta here," Harry repeated gently and he urged her along and through a set of stone doors. As they walked past, she looked back to see them shut behind them with a soft hiss… hopefully, never to be opened again. The beautiful bird flew ahead of Harry, in wide circles as if at peace with the world, and Harry nodded to it, as if letting it know that they were following. He then turned and looked down at her.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked her softly.

Hearing the concern in his voice made her heart skip a beat and feel sick with herself. It was her fault—all of it. Everything that had happened to both of them this horrible year was her fault. And here he was, worrying about her. How could she ever hope to make amends after everything she had done?

She sniffled and forced herself to nod, though she was far from alright. Harry must've understood and he fell silent, merely walking beside her. As they walked, she moved closer to him, glad to just be near him, feeling safer than she could ever remember. She looked back at the bloody sword and up to his exhausted face.

She knew that Harry didn't return the same feelings she had… but she knew that even if he never loved her like she loved him… that he might never see her as more than Ron's little sister… she knew that this moment she will _always_ remember.

But she couldn't help the hollow and aching feelings that were turning inside her. She was going to be expelled, she just knew it. How could she not? She was the one responsible for setting that—that _thing_ on the students! She knew that she would be lucky to escape prison after this all gets out. Her family… they would be so ashamed of her, there was no way they couldn't be ashamed of her. She continued crying as they walked through dark corridor that Tom had led her down what felt an eternity ago. Neither of them said another word until they turned a corner and the distant sound of slowly shifting rock reached her ear.

Suddenly, Harry's head lifted, and his stride lengthened. "Ron!" he bellowed, "I've got Ginny! She's all right!"

Ginny looked up sharply, tears still falling fast. Ron was there too? Where…? She then heard Ron's voice give a strangled cheer; as if he was fighting back sobs. They hurried down the tunnel and there peering through a small hole through a great pile of boulders, just wide enough for her to squeeze through, was her big brother's face.

"Ginny!" he gasped in relief, throwing out an arm to pull her through and he hugged her tightly. "You're alive! I don't believe it! What happened?" he pulled back and peering anxiously into her face, his arms still wrapped around her protectively. "How — what — where did that bird come from?" he said and the beautiful bird, who had been guiding them fluttered through.

"He's Dumbledore's," came Harry's voice as he squeezed through the gap, having to move carefully to avoid the ruby sword. Something that Ron had just noticed as well.

"How come you've got a sword?" Ron gasped, staring at the weapon and up at Harry's face, silently demanding an explanation.

"I'll explain when we get out of here," Harry said in a low voice, but Ron looked ready to argue.

"But-"

"Later," Harry said with a tone of finality in his voice and Ron fell silent, but still confused. Harry then cast a sideways glance at Ginny before he asked. "Where's Lockhart?"

Ginny blinked. Ron was one thing, but Lockhart was here to? Just what was going on?

"Back there. He's in a bad way. Come and see," Ron said, still looking bewildered, but led the way back to the tunnel, his hand still over hers protectively. And there, sitting at the foot of the tunnel was none other than Lockhart, looking filthy and disheveled but he was just sitting there and humming to himself.

"His memory's gone, the Memory Charm backfired," Ron explained, glaring down at Lockhart. Ginny stared at him—a _Memory Charm_? Just what were they talking about? But before she could ask, Dumbledore's bird flew over and landed on Harry's shoulder as he looked at Lockhart with what looked suspiciously like humor. "Hit him instead of us," Ron went on. "Hasn't got a clue who he is, or where he is, or who we are. I told him to come and wait here. He's a danger to himself."

At that moment, Lockhart looked up good-naturedly at Harry and said happily, "Hello. Odd sort of place, isn't this? D'you live here?"

"No," said Ron, raising his eyebrows at Harry who rolled his eyes in return. He then walked over to look up the long, dark pipe. Ginny wondered what he was doing until he turned back and asked Ron, "Have you thought how we're going to get back up this?"

Ron shook his head, but before Ginny had time to worry about them all being stuck down here, Dumbledore's scarlet-and-gold bird had swooped past Harry and was now fluttering in front of him, and waved his long golden tail feathers in his face.

"He looks like he wants you to grab hold…" Ron was saying slowly, staring at the bird. "But you're much too heavy for a bird to pull up there-"

"Fawkes isn't an ordinary bird," Harry said and when he turned to look at them, there was a slight smile appearing on his face as if he knew something the rest of them didn't. "We've got to hold on to each other. Ginny, grab Ron's hand."

Ron immediately did what he was told, taking her hand as if he was afraid that she would disappear if he didn't.

Harry then turned to Lockhart and said, "Professor Lockhart-"

"He means you," Ron said to Lockhart who looked up in surprise as if he didn't know who he was talking to. "You hold Ginny's other hand-"

Ginny took Lockhart's hand and waited. Then, all of a sudden, her body seemed to dissolve, becoming weightless. Terrified, she looked down only to see that they were flying up through the pipes. The slimy walls and cold air rushed past her, leaving behind Tom and the nightmare this place would forever plant inside her mind.

And then the ride was over; they all fell face-forward onto a hard and wet stone floor. Ginny lifted her head and blinked, recognizing the depressing atmosphere of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

Speaking of which, said ghost was hovering over her toilet and was staring at Harry in astonishment. "You're alive," she said in a tone that clearly said that she could hardly believe it.

"There's no need to sound so disappointed," he told her irritated, and he took off his glasses and started cleaning them on his dirty robes.

"Oh, well… I'd just been thinking… if you had died, you'd have been welcome to share my toilet," she simpered and blushed silver.

Ron roared with laughter as they left. "Urgh! Harry! I think Myrtle's got _fond_ of you!" He elbowed Ginny in the ribs teasingly, "You've got competition, Ginny!"

But Ginny was hardly listening to him. She had started crying again at the thought they all almost died down there! Had they been any later, she wouldn't be here right now… about to be expelled and possibly arrested. All the way down the corridor followed Fawkes, with Ron trying to comfort her. But she wouldn't let him. She didn't deserve it.

She didn't pay attention where they were going until they stopped in front of a random door. She didn't say a word as Harry knocked and pushed it open. She held her breath… knowing that soon her fate would be decided.

**(Sorry for the long wait. But I've just gotten through summer school and my finals. Anyway, in the next chapter, Ginny musters up her courage and tells everyone the truth. What was going through her head when she listened to what her knight in armor had to go through to save her. Hope you enjoyed it!)**


	24. Tom's True Identity

**Chapter 23: Tom's True Identity**

"Ginny!" screamed a voice she never thought she hear again. The next thing she knew was that she was engulfed by her mother's arms. She looked up at their tear-stained faces, to see that they were crying… but they were tears of joy. Seeing their faces again, all the emotions that had been building up over the year and suddenly she broke down completely.

"Mum… Dad…" she croaked out and hugged them as tightly as she could. "I'm so sorry…"

As her mother let go so that Dad could hug her, she turned to Harry and Ron and hugged them just as tightly. "You saved her! You saved her! _How_ did you do it?"

"I think we'd all like to know that," said a familiar voice. Her father let go of her and she looked to see who it was who spoke. Professor McGonagall—who was as white as a ghost—was standing there, staring at them as if they _were_ ghosts. And standing right beside her was none other than, Professor Dumbledore… beaming at the sight of them.

Mum let go of Harry and, after he hesitated for a moment—like he was afraid that someone was going to say something, he stepped forward to place the Sorting Hat, the sword, and what remained of Tom's diary.

Harry looked straight up at Dumbledore, took a deep breath and said to him, "Professor? You remember when you asked me on Halloween why we were found where Mrs. Norris was?"

"Yes," he answered softly.

"Well…" Harry hesitated for a moment before he looked back at Ron, who nodded as he allowed his mother to hold onto him and Ginny tightly as they all listened quietly. "It was because I could hear a Basilisk in the pipes," Harry said in a rush.

'_A Basilisk?'_ she thought_. 'That horrible giant snake?'_ she suddenly felt faint, and she wasn't the only one.

"A Basilisk?" screamed out Professor McGonagall in horror, staring at Harry as if she never seen anything like him before.

"That's what the monster of Slytherin was!" Harry explained quickly. "It had been slithering in the pipes all year petrifying the students! I was the only one who could hear it because it's a snake, and I can understand Parseltongue! I've been hearing it all over the place all year, but I didn't think that it would be a good idea to tell you."

"Why on earth would you think that?" Professor McGonagall demanded. Harry shifted uncomfortably. "I was afraid that you would think I was losing my mind," he admitted.

Ginny blinked. Think that he was losing his mind? Why would they think that? But then again, she was the last person to talk… if she hadn't been so afraid of what they would think of her… she looked down at the floor… none of this ever would've happened.

Harry continued, "Anyway, we've been trying to find out more about the Chamber of Secrets and we… er… overheard Draco Malfoy say that the last time that the Chamber was opened was fifty years ago. And that someone had died and the person responsible for it was expelled. That's when we, we as in me, Ron, and Hermione, started looking to what happened back then. We then found out that Hagrid was blamed for the Chamber being opened and we went down to see him. That was after Hermione was attacked and talked to him about it. But Hagrid was taken away before he could tell us anything important."

"You mean that you snuck out in the middle of the night?" Professor McGonagall said sharply, her eyes blazing.

"We weren't thinking straight!" Harry told her and even after all this, Ginny couldn't help but admire how easily he was standing against her. "We were upset and wanted to do something to stop the person who attacked Hermione and it was the only thing that we could think of!"

Ginny flinched again, knowing who was responsible for that as well. "But before Hagrid was taken away, he told us to follow the spiders. And we did. Me and Ron followed the spiders all the way into the forest and…."

"You went into the forest!" she shouted again in shock and she felt Mum pull her and Ron tighter. She could feel her shaking…

"Hagrid told us to!" Harry said defensively, that was when she realized that it wasn't Mum who had been shuddering next to her, but Ron. She looked from him to Harry to see Harry take a deep breath—as if he was reliving a bad memory and said, "That was where we met this giant, talking spider named Aragog, and he told us that Hagrid had been innocent and everyone thought that he was the monster attacking everyone."

A giant spider?! She stared at Ron who was now twitching as if he was in a nightmare. But this was Ron! Ron was terrified of spiders! And yet they had gone into the Forbidden Forest and infiltrated a nest of gigantic spiders to ask about the Chamber of Secrets. Ron! Did he really risk his life just to help his friends solve this mystery? She made a vow that she would never laugh about Ron's phobia ever again.

"But you see, Aragog didn't come from the Chamber," she heard Harry say. "That was when he told us that the person who died fifty years ago was found in a bathroom. So we thought that maybe it was Moaning Myrtle. But before we went to talk her, we went to see Hermione today and we found a piece of paper in her hand that was torn out of an old book! She figured out that it was a Basilisk that I've been hearing. We know why the students weren't killed. Colin Creevey saw the snake through his camera, Justin saw it through Nearly Headless Nick, Nick got the full blast of it, but he's a ghost so he can't die again."

Harry began speaking faster, now that he was on a roll. Ginny just continued to stare at him, amazed at what she was hearing. "And Hermione and that Ravenclaw saw it through the mirror that they were found with. As for Mrs. Norris, there was water on the floor that night from Myrtles' bathroom. So she only saw the reflection of the Basilisk! That's why no one died. That's when we realized that maybe, the entrance to the chamber was in her bathroom!"

Ginny's eyes grew wider and wider with each word he said. Tom's last victim from fifty years ago, had been—of all people—_Moaning Myrtle!_

"Very well," Professor McGonagall said as Harry took a second to catch his breath, "so you found out where the entrance was — breaking a hundred school rules into pieces along the way, I might add — but how on _earth_ did you all get out of there alive, Potter?"

Ginny felt that she was about to be ill. She didn't want to hear when he told them about her involvement. She back into her mother's warm arms, and shut her eyes, as she began to stroke her hair gently.

Harry let out a tired sigh as he explained. "Me and Ron went down there to try and find Ginny. I used Parseltongue to open the entrance. We went down there but we got separated. So I went on ahead alone and I was able to find Ginny who was unconscious at the time," he looked back at her. She felt tears falling thick and fast down her face. But she didn't look away from him—she was going to accept whatever punishment they had for her. She deserved no less… Harry turned back to Dumbledore, she held her breath, and he said calmly, "That was when the Basilisk appeared."

Ginny blinked. What? He didn't mention her yet? But he must've spoken with Tom before the Basilisk came… he hadn't even mentioned the diary yet. What was…? She didn't get a chance to finish this thought because everyone but Dumbledore and Harry gasped.

Dumbledore just continued to look only at him, and Harry went on, "As the snake slithered out, that was when Fawkes appeared at the end of the Chamber with the Sorting hat," Harry said with a grateful smile to the bird who was still on Dumbledore's shoulder. Fawkes looked at him peacefully, before Harry finished up by saying, "I was able to pull this sword out of the hat and I was able to stab the snake. By luck more than anything really," he finished with a sigh.

He had been down in the Chamber of Secrets, face-to-face with Tom and a giant serpent, and then Fawkes the phoenix had come to his rescue with the Sorting Hat, which had given him the sword. Even though she knew that all of this was true, she couldn't believe her ears. This all sounded so incredible… and yet…

Then Harry's voice faltered and stumbled to a stop, Ginny felt his eyes on her again. The silent tears that had never stopped continued to flow down her cheeks. What was he going to say now? What had Tom said? How much did they _know?_

"What interests _me_ most," said Professor Dumbledore in a gentle voice, as he titled his head a little as he looked at Harry, "is how Lord Voldemort managed to enchant Ginny, when my sources tell me he is currently in hiding in the forests of Albania."

Ginny's jaw dropped, dumbfounded. _You-Know-Who?_ What was he talking about? What did he mean by that? She felt close to hyperventilating and swayed slightly where she stood. Impossible—he could possibly mean… Tom couldn't have been…

"W-what's that?" Dad called out, sounding as stunned as she felt. "_You-Know-Who?_ En-enchant _Ginny?_ But Ginny's not… Ginny hasn't been…" He stopped and Ginny looked up at him to see his terrified expression before he croaked out, "Has she?"

"It was this diary," Harry answered swiftly, picking it up and showing it to Dumbledore. "Riddle wrote it when he was sixteen…"

The headmaster reached over and took the book from him. The little black book that had caused all the fear and suffering this year… a tiny little book that you could fit inside your pocket. It was hard to believe that something so small could be so powerful… and dangerous.

"Brilliant," he said softly. "Of course, he was probably the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen."

He turned to the rest of them who were staring at him, hoping that he could explain what was going on here. "Very few people know that Lord Voldemort was once called Tom Riddle."

Ginny felt as if she had just been doused with cold water… as if she had been watching this conversation from the opposite end of a long tunnel. So she had been carrying around something that once belong to… then that means that she had been talking to… all year… and…

Feeling close to passing out she grabbed hold of her mother's arm tightly, not sure what to do. She had been talking to You-Know-Who all year? She had been possessed by…?

"I taught him myself, fifty years ago, at Hogwarts," Dumbledore's voice went on, though she heard his voice as if he was a dream. "He disappeared after leaving the school… travelled far and wide… sank so deeply into the Dark Arts, consorted with the very worst of our kind, underwent so many dangerous, magical transformations, that when he resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, he was barely recognizable. Hardly anyone connected Lord Voldemort with the clever, handsome boy who was once Head Boy here."

Tom was—so Tom was _You-Know-Who?_

Ginny looked quickly at Harry, who was watching Dumbledore. Harry hadn't said anything about her, nothing… as if she had just been an innocent bystander the whole time and just the unlucky victim. Suddenly she understood. He was protecting her… if she didn't say anything no one would ever know what she had done… she could see it in his eyes. He was giving her a choice. She could see that if she choose not to tell them, then he would take the secret with him to his grave if that was what she wanted.

But…

No. She couldn't do that. She had to tell them… even if it meant getting expelled, she couldn't live with a lie like this. Not after everything everyone had done for her. She just couldn't stand it. She'd told Harry the truth… but she also had to tell the rest of the room. Now that she knew what Tom really was, she had to tell them.

"But, Ginny," Mum said clutching her closer to her, looking at Dumbledore with fear in her eyes. "What's our Ginny got to do with-with-_him_?"

Ginny screwed up her whole face and before she stuttered out hoarsely, unable to keep the crying out of her tone, "His d-diary! I've b-been writing in it, and he's been w-writing back all year —"

"Ginny! Haven't I taught you anything?" Dad cried out, and to ashamed to look at him, she buried her head into Mum's side. "What have I always told you? Never trust anything that can think for itself _if you can't see where it keeps its brain._ Why didn't you show the diary to me, or your mother? A suspicious object like that, it was _clearly_ full of Dark Magic!"

Now he reminds her…

"I d-didn't know," she sobbed. "I found it inside one of the books Mum got me. I th-thought someone had just left it in there and forgotten about it —"

"Miss Weasley-" Dumbledore said suddenly and she looked up at him in terror, "-should go up to the hospital wing right away. This has been a terrible ordeal for her."

She gulped. She knew what was coming… she just knew what he was about to say. As soon as she recovered, she was going to be expelled she just knew it. She expected no less after all. it was what she deserved after being such an idiot… she shut her eyes and waited…

"There will be no punishment."

Her eyes snapped open again and she looked up so quickly that her neck crack. What? N-no punishment? But why? It was all her fault that this whole year was like this after all! None of this would've happened if she hadn't been so dumb as to start writing in that book! Why was he letting her go without a punishment?

He looked down at her gently and said very seriously, "Older and wiser wizards than she have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort. Bed rest and perhaps a large, steaming mug of hot chocolate. I always find that cheers me up." He then smiled and said, "You will find that Madam Pomfrey is still awake. She's just giving out Mandrake juice — I daresay the Basilisk's victims will be waking up any moment."

At that moment, she felt light-headed… as though she was waking from a terrible nightmare and it was dawn. A wave of warmth washed inside her and she let the tears fall fast and hard—tears of happiness… no expulsion, no suspension, not even a detention. He had forgiven her for everything that had happened.

"So Hermione's okay!" Ron said brightly, and Dumbledore nodded. Ron and Harry shared a delighted look as he turned back to Ginny and said, "There has been no lasting harm done, Ginny."

She wanted nothing more than to run to him and hug him as hard as he could for letting her stay, but before she could act on impulse, she felt her mother wrap her arms around her tightly and led her out of the office. She pulled her down the corridor before she turned to her and looked her up and down as if checking for any injuries.

When she couldn't find any, she pulled her back into a strong hug and whispered, "Ginny… don't you ever scare me like that again!"

"Mum, Dad…" she whispered back, "I'm just so sorry…"

She felt her dad's arms wrap around both of them. "But Ginny," he asked, still stunned. "Why didn't you ever tell us what was happening? Why didn't you tell one of your brothers or teachers when you realized what was happening?"

"I just don't know anymore!" she bawled. "I didn't understand what was happening to me at first! I didn't know until after Christmas!" she let go and looked to her father, "I was scared! I thought that they would blame me for what happened! Which it was, but I didn't want to be expelled! I tried to get rid of the diary! Everything started going back to normal once I did, but it came back! After that, I was afraid that it would be found by someone else! And by that time it was too late! He… he took me over and…"

She trailed off, unable to finish telling him how terrible she felt. Dad stared at her long and hard before he pulled her into his arms—he picked her up and hugged her tightly, like he used to do when she was small.

"It's ok," he whispered into her hair. "It's over… he can't hurt you again."

Just when she thought she didn't have any more tears to shed, she buried her face into Dad's shoulder and soon it was soaked. "I love you, Dad… Mum… I'm sorry that I haven't said that often enough."

"Mum!"

They looked up to see Ron coming with them, dragging Lockhart with them. Normally, Mum would've been flustered, but her eyes were focused on her alone. Together they all headed straight up to the hospital wing.

Her eyes slowly began to close, feeling tired to the bone, she allowed her father to carry her all the way upstairs. By the time that they all reached it, she was already half asleep. She had no idea to what was going on around her as she was put into one of the spare beds, and she was only vaguely aware of what was happening.

Perhaps she had drifted off again… at least until she heard someone shouting her name. Her eyes opened and standing over her were Percy, Fred, and George—all of them pale but looking at her with relieved expressions of ecstasy. Finding new strength, she pushed herself up and hugged one of the twins tightly, and she felt as if they were going to break her ribs from the return hug.

She heard Percy turn to their parents and asked, "How is this…? What happened? We were told that Ginny was…"

Through the haze, mum hugged him as well and said tearfully, "Harry and Ron saved her, Percy! They found the Chamber of Secrets and rescued her!"

"What?" Fred croaked out in a stunned voice. "They…?"

"It's a long story," her dad told him, "But, you're sister's very tired, Percy. Fred, George? We can explain everything later."

"Percy," she said, in a thin thread of a voice. "Percy, I need to tell you-"

"It can wait," he told her in a surprisingly tender voice. Not at all like his usual brisk one that sounded like he was the authority. She shook her head. She had already told the other's the truth, now it was her brothers turn.

"Ginny, can't it wait?" Mum said anxiously as she ran her hand through her hair in a comforting way. "We'll explain everything and…"

"Explain what?" George asked… at least she thought it was George. He sounded scared and high-pitched. That really began to scare her.

"It was me," Ginny gasped out and they all looked at her. Ginny took a deep breath and turned to Percy. "I'm so sorry. It was me—I'm the one responsible for all the attacks! _I__'m_ the one who released the monster in the Chamber of Secrets."

Her three brothers all stared at her as if worried that she hit her head and was just talking nonsense. Oh, how she wish that's all it was.

"Ginny," Fred said softly. "Don't be stupid."

"You couldn't have," George said half a smile back on her face as if he thought that she was kidding.

She sat up in the bed and said, "I'm not kidding. I'm the one who attacked the students! I'm the one who set the monster on the school and petrified them! But you have to believe me, I never meant for this to happen! I didn't even know I was responsible until it was too late! The real Heir of Slytherin… he… he just took me over and…"

She shut her eyes tightly, fighting the urge to be sick again. "I was stupid and I walked right into his trap! I'm so sorry, Percy! Everyone!"

All three of their jaws dropped. "Y-you? _You,_ Ginny?" Percy stuttered.

She nodded mutely.

"This is why you've been so strange all year?" George demanded.

"Yeah," Fred agreed, suddenly looking green. "We thought that you were just bent out of shape because of the attacks and…"

"W-well, I w-was," she stammered feeling more slow tears trickle down her face. "But it was because _I _was doing them! I'm so sorry! I just…"

But Percy just hugged her this time, and that was when she almost broke down all over again. Out of all her family, he must've suffered the most because of what Tom made her do to Penelope. By this point, she was completely out of tears and he pulled away and Mum was smiling watery at them.

Silence fell again and the twins cleared their throats, "And… Ginny… about before."

"What?" she asked, turning to their awkward faces of misery.

"We're sorry," Fred said finally. "We know that we didn't make things any easier for you."

"We made you go it alone," George finished. She stared at them. What were they talking about? Why should they feel that they have to apologize? Fred and George looked at each other, looked at her, and seemed to have found their words.

"We knew that you weren't acting like yourself," George said at once. "But we didn't think anything about it."

"We just thought that you lost your sense of humor," Fred agreed, rubbing the back of his neck. "We were just playing around you know."

"Our jokes never bothered you before," George went on.

"And they were harmless you know…"

"So we just…"

"Boys," Dad cut them across wearily. "We've been over this before. Jokes are fine, but they're only funny if everyone's laughing."

They both put their heads down and looked ashamed.

"We try to remember that, Dad," George said quietly. "But sometimes we get carried away, you know?"

"But we didn't know anything like this was going on!" Fred said sticking up for them. "We're sorry, if that helps. We act like we don't care…"

"But when we heard that Ginny had been taken," George went on.

"We felt like just total…" Fred didn't seem to find any words to say just how bad they felt. "We felt so worthless…" at those words, Ginny reached over and hugged the twins again.

"It's my fault," she whispered, her eyes drooping again and she knew that she wouldn't be able to keep them up for much longer. Dad must've noticed as well because he stroked her hair again and said, "Boys, we can explain everything. But for now, let your sister sleep."

No sooner as he said that, Ginny's eyes closed, and she was out before her head fell back onto the pillow.

_*Dream*_

_She had another nightmare. _

_This time she dreamt of Tom's face coming out of the diary… just appearing from the old pages with that look in his dark eyes… that look of dark betrayal. She thought that once he was destroyed, that he would be out of her life for good. That she would forget him… but the red paint, the feathers all over her robes and the petrified expressions of the victims were floating around her._

_But it wasn't her fault. It was Tom's… he made her do all this… it had been all him._

_But he said that he was able to control her because she had evil inside her as well? Did that make her any better than him? She was an idiot for ever trusting him! The nightmares of the Basilisk through an empty castle… waking up covered in feathers and paint…_

_She wasn't even so sure that it had been paint!_

_She had been trapped in a living nightmare all year._

_She tried to escape… Harry came and saved her after all! The monsters—both of them—are gone now and she didn't have to worry about them anymore. But she couldn't forget, mustn't ever forget how it happened… it was the only way of making sure that she wouldn't make that mistake ever again. _

_The feeling of her hands breaking the bones of those poor roosters… the cold hissing that was in her ears, Colin Creevey and Justin Finch-Fletchley just because she had been angry at them; and Nearly Headless Nick who was attacked for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Hermione Granger and Penelope Clearwater—for what? _

_The look on their faces had been the same, shock and horror as one misshapen death mask. _

_Done by the work of a monster…_

_*End of Dream*_

Her eyes snapped open and she sat bolt upright, gasping for breath. She stared around her, half expecting to be back in the chamber… or in her dorm—as if being rescued had been just the dream and she was now about to hear Tom's voice again… but no, she was in the hospital wing.

It had all been a dream. It had been another nightmare. The infirmary was filled with delicate morning light and she was safe and warm in bed… and for the first time in what felt like years, she felt wide awake. Having finally gotten a full night's of sleep.

"Finally, awake, Miss Weasley?" said a deep voice.

She jumped and looked over to the door to see the headmaster standing there, smiling widely at the sight of her.

"Professor," she said softly and timidly, looking down at the two lumps at the end of the bed that were her feet.

"Hello, Ginny," he said softly as he came closer. "And how are you feeling this morning?"

"Better," she answered softly, that was when she heard a snore next to her. She jumped and looked over to see that Fred had fallen asleep beside George in the same bed. That was when she looked all around her, and saw Percy was in a bed right across from her, and her mother and father in chairs beside her own, all of them fast asleep.

"They didn't want to leave your side," he smiled as she looked around her. She looked up at him to see that he looked tired, but perfectly happy.

"We're just finishing up the feast we had last night in celebration of the closing of the Chamber of Secrets and your safe return," he informed her. "So sorry that you couldn't have joined us… though I am guessing right when I'm saying that you rather not have?"

Before she could answer him, she suddenly heard another snore coming from near the window at the far end of the hospital and glanced up to see Harry, Ron, and Hermione there as well. Harry was in a bed farthest away from her, with Ron sleeping in the one right next to him and Hermione in a chair, sleeping with her head on his bed.

"They also wanted to be near you," he said smiling, following where she was looking. "They wanted to go up to their own beds, but Professor McGonagall insisted that your brother and Mr. Potter spend at least the rest of the day here. Miss Granger didn't want to be away from them any longer, and joined them. They arrived just a few minutes before you woke up in fact."

Ginny stared at everyone around her as he came close enough to stand near the foot of her bed.

"Why?" she asked softly, forgetting that he was there for a moment. "Why do they care? After everything that happened… after everything that I've done…"

"Because they care about you, Ginny," he said gently.

"But I was so _stupid_," she said bitterly, biting her lower lip. "If I just told the truth sooner I could've…"

The headmaster sighed. "Miss Weasley… I knew Tom Riddle a long time ago. I know how he works… I know what he's capable of better than anyone. He always had a gift for charming others… playing on their weakness and taking advantage of them."

"I know sir," she answered. She understood of course. Tom had manipulated and fooled her into acting just how he wanted. But it didn't help her any.

"You are not the first person to become charmed by Tom Riddle, Ginny," he said to her gently. "And I am sure that you won't be the last. You are young and just starting school… that's a terribly vulnerable age for anybody. It's easy for someone with dark intentions to take advantage of that."

"But nobody else got possessed like how I did right?" she asked miserably.

"No," he answered truthfully. "However, you are as much a victim in all this as everyone else here. I just want you to know that I do _not_ blame you for the events of this year."

Ginny stared at him, her bottom lip beginning to tremble again. "But s-sir…" she stammered. "Harry was almost killed because of me, and the students that I attacked…"

She felt sickened with herself as she asked the question that she needed answered, "Why me? Where did that—that _thing_ come from?"

Dumbledore gave her a sad look. "I am afraid that one of Voldemort's supporters," she flinched at the name, "Slipped it into your possessions."

Ginny stared at him in shock. "Y-you mean that the diary had been planted on me on purpose?!"

He sighed and nodded. "I'm afraid so. Someone wanted that diary read… to unleash the monster onto the students."

"But who?" she croaked out at him. "And why did they choose me?"

Dumbledore sighed and answered, "It had been Lucius Malfoy. Apparently, he had been able to slip it into your cauldron on your trip to Diagon Alley."

Ginny stared at him as if transfixed, unable to believe her ears. She then remembered that he had been the one holding her Transfiguration book that day. She gripped her hair tightly and whispered, "I'd should've known…"

Professor Dumbledore gave her a kind look that she didn't deserve. "If there is anyone to blame here, Ginny. It is Lucius Malfoy and Voldemort. You have nothing to be ashamed about."

She lifted her eyes. "Sir? Tom Riddle… he just… he told me that… he said that the reason that I attacked those people was because I _wanted_ them to suffer. I was angry that Mrs. Norris got me a detention… and I was annoyed with Colin and Justin Finch-Fletchley because of what happened at the Quidditch match and the Dueling Club… and that… that I was jealous of Hermione. I mean, that's not true is it? I mean, sure I was angry, but I never wanted this to happen to them."

"No," Dumbledore said at once. "You need to understand that what happened wasn't any of your doing. Lord Voldemort…" again she filched at his name, "Is a very powerful and manipulative wizard—many full-grown wizards have easily fallen for his charms as well as the young."

"But…" Ginny insisted, tears beginning to fall from her brown eyes. "Ijust kept writing in the diary even though I knew it was wrong! I wanted to stop, but I just couldn't."

"Can you tell me exactly what it was like?" he asked softly, coming a little closer.

She sniffled and rubbed her watery eyes. "At first, nothing seemed wrong," she admitted. "Sometimes I would be more tired than I usually was, but nothing happened until Halloween. I wrote to Tom and told him how I got a detention thanks to Mrs. Norris… and that was when it started. There were all these times when I'd wake up in a strange place and I couldn't remember how I got there."

She stared down at her hands, "I didn't know what was happening at first, sir. I just thought that maybe I was sleep-walking or something. I wanted to come to you at first, but he…" she gritted her teeth at how naïve she had been. "He convinced me not to go to anyone. But then they started to happen more often, the blackouts I mean, and then I started having nightmares. Just after Christmas and term started again, he started saying some terrible things. Some cruel things and he was scaring me. Finally, I realized that he was the one who was behind all the attacks. So I tried to get rid of the diary."

She took a deep breath and went on, "I flushed it down a toilet and just left it there. Just when everything slowly started to get better, he fell back into my life. And even when I tried to throw the diary away again, it was too late. He was already in my head. He was so angry with me… he finally took over and made me go and wait in the Chamber so that Harry could come and rescue me." She finally stopped there and buried her face in her knees.

She heard his footsteps come nearer and felt his hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright," he said softly. "Ginny, we all get angry, and we all wish that something bad happens to others, but rarely ever do we actually mean it. Everyone has thoughts like that. When we are hurt or angered or annoyed, then we wish some sort of vengeance on that person who caused it. Tom simply took advantage of all that to test his powers."

She wiped her eyes again and looked up at his kind face. "Do you ever…?" she began but he guessed what she was going to ask and nodded.

"Oh, yes," he answered deeply. "There have been many times that I was angry and wanted vengeance for a wrong that has been done. However, when you are as old as I am, you realize that revenge doesn't do anything except leave us with even more dreadful feelings."

"But he used them…" she began but he interrupted, "Ginny. Listen to me. Darkness is inside of everyone."

"And mine is just deeper than most," she said bitterly.

He sighed again and said firmly, "Ginny, never has there been a bright light that did not cast a shadow. Darkness by its very nature is always intertwined with light. They are two sides of the opposite coin. One can't even exist without the other. That is what makes us human. You have darkness inside you, Ginny. Just as I do. And everyone else. It is nothing to be ashamed about. How you deal with it, is what makes all the difference."

He looked into her eyes and said firmly, "You are a good person, Ginny. Had you had the choice I know that you never would've done those things unless you weren't in control. It hadn't been you who attacked those people. It was Tom."

She studied him, and thought about that. Finally, she nodded.

He smiled. "It won't be easy, but what you need do now is to put it behind you. That does not mean pretending it didn't happen, of course. I want you to learn from what happened here, and you won't fall for those tricks again. And always remember that you have friends and family who will always be here for you should you need them."

"I know," Ginny said softly, "I'm… I'm just so ashamed. All those people… they all could have died, I just feel so…!"

As if he knew what she was thinking, he interrupted her again, "You are not weak, Ginny. You were incredibly brave to hold Tom off for as long as you did. You possess incredible strength of character, and that isn't anything that should be taken for granted."

"Really?" she asked softly.

"Of course," he answered. "Now, I know that it will take you a while for you to trust again."

"Yeah," said Ginny sadly. "What am I supposed to do? Can I trust anyone anymore? How will I know…?"

"We're all here for you," Dumbledore answered, placing his hand on her shoulder again. "I know it will be hard, but you will eventually get through this and learn that you can love and trust once more. I know that there will always be people like Tom Riddle who will trick you and try to manipulate you… and sometimes they succeed. But there are many more out there who are your real friends and they would never hurt you. It's those people that you need to listen to. And your family loves you very much, they were all extremely concerned about you."

"I know," Ginny replied quietly, wiping away the last of her tears. "Thank you, sir."

"Maybe…" he suggested, "You start making friends with real people instead of books?"

She nodded glumly and he stood up straight. She looked back to Harry and asked, "But why would he save me? I mean… I can barely say two words in front of him… I'm just my brother's bumbling little sister to him."

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "Are you sorry that he saved you?"

Ginny looked down at her hands again. "I don't know anymore."

"No you aren't," he said at once. She looked at his blue eyes again to see that he was smiling. "You are still young my dear. Your life is just getting started. You've made mistakes, yes, but you have learned from them and all is forgiven. That is what being young is about… making mistakes and learning from them. And as for Harry not caring… do you think that he would've risked so much if you didn't mean a thing to him? Perhaps not in the way you want just yet…"

She turned red and he chuckled. "You are both a bit young to be worried about dating just yet," he told her good-naturedly. "And you don't want to grow up to fast. Believe me, you will miss being young once it's gone. Now then, I should leave before Madame Pomfrey finds out that I'm here and throws me out."

This prompted a small, watery laugh from Ginny and he chuckled lightly. "I will see you back in your classes very soon, Ginny? And remember what I said: it wasn't your fault in the slightest."

She nodded as she watched him leave. She looked around at her family and felt her heart grow warm at the sight of all of them. Just last night she had been in the Chamber of Secrets, convinced that when everyone knew, they would push her away… but instead, they hugged her and said that it wasn't her fault. It would take time for her to convince herself of that…

And Harry… even Harry who'd had to go all the way down into the Chamber of Secrets to save her… even he didn't hate her.

She watched them all for a little while until her parents woke up and began to hug her again and talked, as if afraid that she had disappeared while they slept.

**(Ahh. Isn't that sweet? Sorry for taking so long. But I'm afraid that my Discovering the Legend series had been taken down from Point Given's new forum and I've been trying to find another site to put them up. Good news is that I found one. You can look on my profile for the site and how to find it. As for this story, we're almost done! I think about two or three more chapters should do it. Oh, and as for what happens in the next one… hee hee… I'm not telling this time! But I can tell you that it's gonna be the sweetest one yet! Thanks again and enjoy!)**


	25. The Kiss Thief

**Chapter 24: The Kiss Thief **

Ginny spent the rest of that day in the hospital. Her parents and brothers had stayed with her for most of that day until they were convinced that she was going to make a full recovery. Her mother must've hugged and kissed her at least a hundred times—she even kept running back to give her a hug on the way to the door—before they finally left.

It wasn't long after that did Harry finally wake up from the other end of the hospital. According to Madam Pomfery it was merely because of exhaustion and not because of injuries that he was in here. Apparently, Dumbledore wanted Harry to have time to recover without being bothered by the rest of the school. But some time during the afternoon, he sat up and looked around him in polite confusion.

"You alright?" Ginny called to him. He looked over at her and gave her a slight smile.

"I should be asking you that," he answered back. Ginny could see that he still looked a little tired. Well, he should be—he found against Tom, a Basilisk, and had been celebrating all in one night… from what Fred and George said, the whole school was spending the day in bed after having partying all night.

She watched as he turned to his bedside table where he brought some of the sweets up from the feast. "Want one?" he called back, holding up some treacle tarts.

She shook her head, not very hungry. Harry seemed to have noticed it as well, because he got up and walked over to her. She blushed and turned away from him as he sat at the foot of her bed. "You know… its ok now. Riddle's gone… he can't hurt you again. The diary's destroyed so no one can ever use it again. And Malfoy's dad's bound to be in big trouble…"

"Dad flipped out when he heard," Ginny answered him softly, still ashamed to look him in the eye. When Dumbledore had come out and told her parents where that diary came from, Dad nearly tore what was left of his hair out in fury. "I think that he was going to go and kill him himself if Mum didn't stop him… though she was pretty angry to. I think that she would've wanted a chance to duel him…" her mouth turned up into a tiny smile at the idea.

She then forced herself to look up at him. "Harry… I'm so sorry… it's all my fault that this…"

He held out one of the tarts and interrupted her, "Don't finish that sentence. You didn't know. How could you expect a diary to do all this?" he held his arms out, addressing this whole year and Ginny smiled again.

"But I was still such an idiot for trusting him," she told him softly. "If I just told someone the truth…"

"Well, if you're an idiot for trusting him, then we both are," Harry answered grimly.

She stared at him. "But you never…?"

"I wrote to him," Harry answered. "I asked him what he knew about the Chamber of Secrets and he showed me how he framed Hagrid. I can't believe that I believed Riddle like that. I mean, I thought that he just made a mistake or something but…" he trailed off. "Well, at least he finally got his due. A little payback for Hagrid and everything…"

Ginny continued to stare at him, "But you didn't keep writing to him all the time like I did." She told him.

"I really didn't want to know any more," Harry answered truthfully. "After seeing Hagrid like that, I guess I was afraid of what else I might find out."

Ginny lowered her eyes to look down at her fingers and asked something that had been bothering her since she woke up in the Chamber. "What did he say?" she asked him.

"What?" he asked her confused.

Ginny shifted uncomfortably and asked again, "Tom… you talked to him when you came down into the Chamber didn't you?"

This time it was Harry's turn to look away. "Yeah… I talked to him," he said uneasy.

She gulped, not sure if she was going to like the answer, "I need to know… what he said to you? Did he… tell you anything?" She bit her lower lip, her insides squirming at all the many things she wrote about the very boy across from her. She could tell that Harry was looking uncomfortable as well and she asked a little more urgently, "Please tell me. What did he say about me? What did he tell you? Did he say anything about…?" she couldn't finish the question, hoping that Tom didn't tell him how she felt.

Harry didn't answer for a minute as he finished his tart. Finally, he spoke, "Well, he told me how he was the one who was behind all the attacks this year, and how he had been using you to do it." Ginny flinched at those words, but she kept listening, "And how he had been manipulating you this whole time. I can't tell you how angry I was."

"Y-you were?" she stuttered, her heart warming at the very thought.

"Well, yeah," he answered. "It was disgusting hearing him talk about it. He then started bragging about being the Heir of Slytherin, and he wanted to know about me."

"You?" Ginny whispered, mentally kicking herself for telling Tom about him.

"He wanted to know how I survived the night I got this," he answered simply, reaching up to brush his bangs away so she could see the scar. "After that, he pretty much wrapped it up and decided that he didn't need me there anymore."

They were both silent for a short time before she asked again, not having her question really answered, "But he didn't say anything about me?"

Harry looked at her, as if wondering how to tell her. "A little," he confessed. "But it wasn't anything much. Just about how much it bothered you how your brothers made fun of you and having second-hand things… that's pretty much it."

She continued to watch him. "That's it?" she asked, wanting to make sure.

"Yes," he told her, however she couldn't help but feel that he wasn't being completely honest with her.

"You sure?" she made sure.

He sighed and looked over at her, "He said that you were worried that you…" he stopped for a moment and she held her breath and her hands closed tightly, "Were worried that…"

But just at that moment, a voice called from behind them causing them both to jump. "What are you both up to?"

They both looked around to see Madam Pomfrey standing there.

"Both of you still need rest," she said firmly. She glared at Harry as if it had been his idea that they weren't resting and he quickly jumped up and went back to his bed at the far end of the room, Ginny feeling a little alone as she watched him go.

"I'll be able to leave soon though," Harry told her a little disgruntled. "I mean, it's not that I'm hurt or anything."

"You should be able to leave in the morning," she told him. "However the Headmaster said that you might like some away from the rest of the school."

Harry nodded slightly as he sat down and got back into bed. Ginny watched until she went back into her office and asked him, "What were you saying?"

Harry, who was going for some more sweets, hesitated for a minute before he answered with another smile that made her insides feel warm again, "You know… it's nothing really. It doesn't matter… not anymore. It's over now and you don't need to worry about him again right? It's over."

Ginny nodded, though she was still nervous to why he didn't seem to want to answer her. And yet, he wasn't treating her any differently than normal… he was still as nice as always… she then realized that she still had the tart he gave her in her hand—now crushed after she had tightened her hand and spilling jam everywhere. Suddenly, she realized she didn't care and she took a big bite.

*That night*

Ginny had lain away in the dark hospital wing for several hours, lost in thoughts once again. Several times she had dozed off and come to without any idea to how much time had passed. She sighed as she sat up, looking around her—it must be at least midnight judging from the darkness surrounding her.

The whole time however, she had been thinking of everything that had happened to her. How everything seemed to come full circle. She remembered how bothered she was that they couldn't afford new books and robes, and how her brothers made fun of her… how little that seemed now. Ginny wouldn't let something like that bother her ever again… because she knew that there were more important things now. She had been lucky to escape this year still breathing… its funny how it took her almost losing her life for her to understand just how much she had.

All this time she had been lying in this bed, she had been going through her memories—all the little things she never noticed before and was hating herself for not seeing it until now.

How her bedroom back at the Burrow had the perfect view of the yard where she could watch the sun set… the wonderful smell of her mother's cooking… the strong scent of her dad's aftershave… the sounds of explosions from her brother's room… the feeling of being in her soft bed and watching the stars twinkling past the curtains of her four poster… and of course…

She looked over to see Harry fast asleep. She felt warmth over her cheeks again as she looked at him—knowing that it was thanks to him that she could now look back on all those little things again. By the moonlight streaming in through the window, she could see him in a different light—he looked so much younger and at peace than she ever thought possible. It was a sight that she liked at once.

Harry Potter. That was who she wanted… what she wanted more than anything else.

Her feelings for Harry had only become more and more serious within the last couple of months, and especially what happened last night. Tom had been right about one thing… her feelings for him seem to becoming more than just a simple crush. Since she had realized that Tom had been dragging her under—this boy here was the only thing that had ever seemed real to her.

She wasn't sure how it worked, but somehow thinking of him made her stronger and fight Tom harder. Why was that? But what she didn't understand the most was how he could keep going forward without hating her for all the trouble she put him through. All the unfairness he faced this year was because of her after all. And yet he still risked his life for her—a girl he barely knew simply because she was his best friend's little sister.

And now he was hurting because of her. She needed to see him up close and even a part of her wanted to tell him how she felt. And so, slowly, very slowly she rolled out of the bed, listening to it creak slightly as her feet touched the cold floor.

She got up and as quietly as a one of the moonbeams she walked over to the bed where he continued sleeping.

She knelt down at the side of his bed and noticed how strange he looked without his glasses. He still looked tired, but she somehow knew that he should be completely back to normal after one more night's sleep. With the thought that Harry would not be waking up soon, Ginny slowly brought her hand to his forehead and swept away his bangs to reveal the scar.

It was strange… she had always seen it as something of a symbol. Such as something that should be looked at in admiration and respect. But now she knew what it truly was. A mark of what had been taken from him… what he could've had.

She briefly wondered if she would feel the same way about him if he never had that scar… or if he would've been the same person he was now if he hadn't cursed with it. Would they have ever met at all without it? She wasn't so sure anymore…

He was still cute, even in his sleep, and nothing could have stopped her heart from beating faster as she softly ran her hand through his hair; feeling scared and worried. What did Tom tell him that he didn't want to tell her?

Her fingers roamed over his features, taking in his straight nose, the closed eyes that hid his beautiful jade eyes, and finally his lips. Smooth as they were, they sent a tingle through her body just looking at them.

'_Will one kiss hurt?__'_ she thought to herself.

She looked cautiously over her shoulder to Madam Pomfrey's office—almost as if she was looking for permission from something. But she knew that it was late enough that she needn't worry about her showing up again.

She turned back to see his gently sleeping face. And so, slowly she leaned down until her face was so close to Harry's that she could feel his breath. Her mind was telling her one thing… but her heart was disagreeing completely… and of course, she usually listened to it rather than her brain. And so, before she lost her nerve, she leaned forward and planted her lips tenderly upon his.

It was unlike anything she ever experienced. The moment their lips touched she felt warmth spreading throughout her body and she knew she was home. The kiss wasn't like fireworks or anything like she expected… rather, it was like sliding into a hot bath after a long, hard day. The warmth started at her lips, turning her insides to jelly on impact, and then it spreads to the rest of her body until all her worries dissipated and left with a feeling of utmost happiness. She was reveling in the feelings that were sending her senses into overdrive. She never felt anything like this in the world before… but it felt so… right.

She had no idea how long the kiss lasted. Time didn't seem to be in existence at that moment where all of her dreams came true for that brief instant. But then he moved slightly in his sleep, as if he was sensing that she was there, and the sound brought Ginny to her senses as her eyes opened and her brain screaming at her; she drew back right away. She did, much to her disappointment, the feelings of bliss disappeared and she slowly sank back into reality.

She stared back into his face and felt her heart skip a beat remembering what just happened. Kissing Harry was something she had never felt before. Her entire body went numb with happiness, and her mouth began to _tingle_ with the memory.

She had thought about kissing him so many times, she still couldn't believe her boldness and done it. For a moment she thought that she had been in another dream, but then she looked around the hospital room and she knew that it was no hallucination.

Maybe it wasn't as she had imagined it—she had envisioned the two of them walking by the lake, talking and laughing, before he would lean in and they would kiss. While she was glad that it was still a kiss, but she wished more than anything to go on that walk with him… but for now… this was more than enough.

She became aware of that she was pushing her luck and she had to get back to her bed before something happened. Knowing that every second she stayed here, she was risking him waking up or Madam Pomfrey waking up and coming in to check on her. But before she left, she lowered her head again and whispered softly to him, "Thank you… for everything…"

**(Aww… didn't see that coming did ya? I know that the odds of this happening are slim to none… but hey, it's my story and why not? Hope you enjoyed it… only one more chapter to go and then we can finally end this story.)**


	26. His Name with Hers

**Epilogue: His Name with Hers**

Life slowly turned back to as normal as possible within the last couple weeks at Hogwarts. Ginny had been able to returned to the rest of the school just a day after that Harry was allowed to leave the hospital wing. Her friends screamed in welcome when they saw her enter the common room and ran over to hug her, so glad that she was ok.

Now that they didn't have to worry about exams, Tom was now gone, combined with the perfect weather outside… it seemed almost impossible that just a few days ago she was so close to losing her sanity and her life. Almost as if it had just been a very long and bad dream…

She joined in with the rest of school, ate at least four helpings at every meal—as if trying to make up for all the meals she missed over the year, was outside enjoying the sun so that her once ghostly pale skin turned into a healthy glow. She enjoyed herself and had fun with her friends, even Colin Creevey joined in with her…

But to her, the best part was that no one had blamed her for what had happened.

Everyone was just so glad that she escaped and this horrible year was finally over. In fact, she heard some people joke around that maybe this year had been worth it to get rid of Lockhart and were able to escape doing exams.

For the first time since that accursed book fell into her hands, she felt free. As if the heavy shackles that bound her to Tom were broken and she was able to fly away into the bright sunlight.

This was how her first year would've gone if she hadn't been so stupid… if it hadn't been for Tom…

But she was able to forget all about him as she laughed with everyone else and pretend that she was no different from anyone else. But like all good things, it soon came to an end. All too soon, the end of the year had arrived and she was back in her dorm packing her trunk for the Hogwarts Express to take her home the next day; talking cheerfully with all her friends about their plans for summer. Ginny happily packed all her worn clothes, and ancient books—which were now as priceless to her as if they were brand new—and even hummed merrily as she slammed the lid on her trunk shut…

She talked, laughed, and ate at the feast that night with everyone else, and the next day she woke up, only to glad to be going home again. She almost skipped down to the station, and only looked back when she was safely on the train. She looked out the window in an empty compartment, to get one last glimpse at the beautiful castle—hopeful that next year would be better than this one. Then again, it couldn't possibly get any worse now could it?

So many horrible things had happened to her this year, but so many wonderful things as well. Strange how you can't have one without the other…

"Here's to next year?" she murmured to herself before she smiled as the castle slowly disappeared from her view until it was nothing more than a tiny speck in the distance. A few minutes later, she was pleasantly surprised to see that Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the twins had joined her in the compartment.

They greeted her happily before George pulled out his pack of Exploding Snap cards and began shuffling.

She took the cards and as everyone else began to play, she glanced over at Harry. She hadn't spoken to him since that day in the hospital, and as memories of the kiss went into her mind, she turned beet red and hurriedly looked down at her cards, but they hardly noticing her.

Harry wasn't like any other person she ever met. He was world famous, but you would never have guessed it once you met him. He defeated Voldemort, killed the Basilisk, and saved her and the castle all in one night, but he didn't act any differently than any other normal person and hated being treated as if he was special…

That was when she realized that he was special _because_ he didn't want to be special…

Harry wasn't like the star she imagined him to be. He wasn't like a brave knight ready to battle a dragon at any moment, but a normal boy who fought when he felt that he had to. And in between those battles, he tried to live normally, acting like everyone else, though that seemed to make him more endearing.

He was special in a normal way… there was just something in him that just…

"Ginny?" Ron's voice interrupted her, and Ginny snapped out of it as she quickly put her mind back into the game. This went on for some time before they slowly made their way through the country and close to Kings' Cross.

Once, she smiled at Harry when he wasn't looking. She would stop now… she promised herself. She decided to try and be more of herself, stop acting like some lovestruck fan girl. She promised herself that she would try to treat him like anyone else. No more swooning and sighing when she saw him, and most certainly, she was never, _ever_ gonna send him a singing valentine again.

Just at that moment, Harry suddenly turned to her and asked, "Ginny?" she bit back the sigh, "What did you see Percy doing, that he didn't want you to tell anyone?"

Ginny blinked in confusion before she realized what he was talking about. She giggled, forgetting that she was embarrassed, "Oh, that. Well-Percy's got a _girlfriend_."

Jaws dropped all around the compartment, and Fred had actually dropped his stack of books on George's head—though it didn't look like either noticed as they stared at her. _"What?"_

She grinned wider, having a feeling that Percy wasn't going to be too happy about this, but… "It's that Ravenclaw prefect, Penelope Clearwater…" she told them what she saw and they stared back at her. While she did promise Percy, this was payback for how he treated her all year. She then asked, though she already knew the answer, "You won't tease him, will you?"

The stunned looks on the twins faces disappeared as identical evil grins appeared. "Wouldn't dream of it," Fred said unconvincingly.

"Definitely not," George agreed firmly, rubbing his hands together eagerly and they left. Her parents were both there and almost ran up to hug her. While she fully embraced them both and hugged back just as hard, she looked over her father's shoulder to see Harry, Ron, and Hermione all saying goodbye.

Harry and Hermione stayed just long enough to say goodbye to her family, Mum hugged Harry and Ron again as she did that night at the castle, before Hermione spotted her parents and ran off—her hand rose in farewell. Just then, Harry spotted his relatives and was getting ready to head over to them.

"Ah… Harry…?" she croaked out at him. He looked back at her, obviously wondering what she wanted. While most of her brothers were talking to Mum and Dad, she gulped and opened her mouth, trying to tell him everything she had wanted to say… to tell him how much she liked him, how she was so glad that they met, how kind he had been to her, and so much more… but she wasn't sure how to put them all into words.

He just continued to look at her politely, patiently waiting… and finally, she stuttered out two words… "T-thank you."

He blinked in surprise at her before he smiled again, her heart missing a beat for just a moment. "Anytime…" he told her sincerely. "You take it easy this summer won't you?"

She nodded at once. "So… I guess I'll see you next year?"

"Maybe," he grinned as he took his trolley and started to push it towards his relatives, who were glaring at him for keeping them waiting. "Ron said that he'd invite me over the summer if it's possible. But if not, I'll see you here in two months."

"Oh, right," she whispered as he gave her a wave and walked away. And even when she also followed her family across the station in the opposite direction, she couldn't help but turn her head back to look at him—she could just make out his messy back hair and gave a tiny sigh.

She then walked out into the bright sunlight—an omen of brighter things to come.

*Later*

Dad had been able to get a couple cars from the Ministry to get them home, almost as soon as she saw the Burrow, she felt the need to cry as she flung the car door opened and almost sprinted across the yard to the door and inside. It looked just as it did the last time she saw it… all the pots and pans hanging from the ceiling, the long table with all the mismatch chairs, the smell of her dad's aftershave and the lingering scent of spices in the cabinets, and there on the wall was the familiar clock with nine hands.

Where, just at that moment, the shorted hand that held her name moved from _traveling_, over to…

"Home," she whispered, suddenly feeling exhausted from the long ride over and trooped up the rickety old staircase. Relishing the way that it twisted and turned at every corner and the way it creaked on every step, up to the familiar door that she had stared at countless times before but never really noticed it.

She opened it to reveal to her the tiny room, that looked exactly as it did last summer… it looked like no one had been in here—except for mum who had obviously been in here to dust once in awhile. She suddenly felt her eyes grow heavy and went over to her tidy bed and collapsed onto it; asleep in no time at all

*Later*

Ginny woke up later some time later. She had the feeling that she hadn't been out for long, it was still light outside, however she could see familiar shadows dancing across the floor telling her that the sun was sinking. She rolled over onto her back and yawned, admiring her Holyhead Harpies posters before she heard footsteps just outside her door.

She looked up in time to see it open and her mother's head poked in. "Ginny?" she asked softly when she saw that she was awake.

Ginny sat up, "Oh, sorry, Mum," she said yawning again. "I didn't mean to fall asleep now…"

But mum just smiled. "It's alright dear," she assured her. "It had been a long ride after all. We brought your trunk in," she then pointed to the foot of her bed to where she just realized that her trunk was indeed was there. "But you can unpack later. I just wanted to let you know that dinner will be ready soon. But if you rather sleep?"

Ginny yawned and slowly got out of bed. "No, I'm fine. I was just a little tired."

"Well, Dinner will be done in about fifteen minutes," she smiled as she left. But before she left she looked back and said, "Oh, and o you know why Percy looks so annoyed with Ron and the twins? Apparently they're teasing him about something?"

Ginny bit back a smirk and twisted her face into what she hoped was puzzled. "No," she lied as mum left after that. Fighting the urge to laugh, she got off her bed and walked across the room to look down at the glowing lawn of gold and reds. Her eyes fell onto the orchard, where she saw her Ron and the twins sticking the brooms back into the shed and heading back to the house—they appeared to have been laughing.

Smiling, she left the room and went outside, just as they walked into the kitchen.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," she called as she ran past them and onto the soft grass. She almost dashed to the shed to get a broom and quickly stole one of the twins Cleansweeps before she kicked off, flying around the orchard—high enough that she was near the treetops, but low enough so that no one could see her.

She breathed in the fresh, humid air, letting it fill her lungs as the wind wiped her long hair around her face as the colors danced around her. After a few minutes, she landed near one of the top branches and moved to sit right on it and watch the sun set.

The wonderful golden ball slowly sinking beyond the horizon, the sky was an explosion of reds, oranges, and bright yellows—dancing off the clouds and casting dark shadows on the ground. Why hadn't she ever noticed how beautiful it was? How the colors mixed and turned the whole world into something magical?

As she sat there, she thought back to the little girl who last sat up here and watched the sun set… back then, she had been so looking forward to going to school, and not really noticing it. Well, she'll be making up for that. At this moment, the young girl sitting here, and the girl back then before school… it was almost incredible to her that they were the same person.

But she was still Ginny Weasley. She still had red hair, six older brothers, and lived here with her family at the Burrow. But now she was one of those few people to have ever met Lord Voldemort and was lucky enough to tell the tale.

She looked down at her hands, the familiar feelings of shame and guilt of what she had done came back to her. She was responsible for hurting all those people and scaring the whole castle. If it wasn't for some strange coincidences, she would have easily been responsible for killing. On some level, she knew it wasn't her fault. It had been Voldemort… she knew that… but…

She still cringed when she thought about all the secrets she had shared with that accursed diary…

Because of her prattling on about Harry, Riddle was able to slowly tighten his hold on her. It took weeks for her to realize that but it has still been too late. She had opened the Chamber of Secrets and set the Basilisk free on the students. She had hurt her friends, and almost led Harry right to his death…

And yet, they didn't hate her? Why?

She felt nothing but sick with herself… she had cared about that boy so much and he almost died for her. But he didn't… she had woke up and there he was… she reached into her pocket and pulled out the slightly wrinkled picture that she took from Colin.

She was here enjoying the sunset thanks to him… oh, and Ron too of course. Everyone was alright, she hadn't been expelled, and now she was free. But for some reason, she suddenly thought of Ron's stupid comment about Moaning Myrtle being her competition for Harry's feelings and she blushed as red as the sky again.

She shook her head hard. No. She couldn't let herself become selfish about Harry. She wasn't going to be like Tom, tearing someone apart just to get what she wanted. Professor Dumbledore was right, they were both still young. There was still plenty of time… even if he didn't like her now, there was a chance that he would someday.

And even if they wouldn't be together… they could at least still be friends right? Yes… she would focus on being his friend… she would never try to ruin his friendships and any future relationships that he might have… he deserved that much.

She smiled at that little picture as she watched him continue to fly like a hawk. She knew that she was going to like him for a long time. Even now Ginny still doubted why he saved her. Why had Harry risked life to save her from the Chamber? Surely it was mainly for Ron and her family… but he still wouldn't have done all that for a silly little girl that he barely knew right?

She gently touched her lips with the tip of her fingers before she turned an even darker shade of red. She would wait… even if everyone laughed and said that it was hopeless, she just couldn't help herself. Even though he had been asleep, she felt so at peace and whole for that brief kiss. When he pulled her from the chamber and they were walking out, his words comforted her, and he protected her when he later explained what happened to the Headmaster.

He had become something like a stone wall protecting her from Riddle. Ever since that night she knew that she would never forget. Even if she fell in love with someone else… she knew her first kiss would be to Harry alone.

She thought about kissing him so many times, she still couldn't believe that she had the nerve to do it. One day, she hoped that he would someday return it… it had been more than just a spark…

She then pulled out the folded scarf that she had gotten for Christmas… still warm to the touch. Inside it was the quill that Hermione had given her that same day… but from all the hours she had used it writing to Tom, she doubted that she would be able to use it for much longer. But this would be its final act. Carefully looking around to make sure that no one was watching, she leaned in close to the tree and made a few deep marks. No one would see it, she was sure of that. With all these branches and leaves in the way, no one could possibly see it unless they sat here and looked closely at the trunk. She carved only two simple initials inside a small heart:

**H.P**

**G.W**

No one would ever know about this secret but her as she leaned back to smile at it. Seeing it there was like making a vow. She would live her life, and he would live his… but she would always be hopeful that one day he would fall for her as madly as she had fallen for him. Ginny's mind was made up. She would wait for him… and if they were meant to be together, then it would happen one day. No matter how long it took, she would wait and see…

She then thought back to something else that Professor Dumbledore had once said.

"If that's true and he does care about me," she said softly to herself, "Then he doesn't _love_ me, he just _likes_ me." She smiled softly before she hugged the scarf and the picture close to her heart and said, "So we're halfway there."

Little did she know that in just five years time, her waiting would pay off. And then… they would live happily for the rest of their days… together…

**THE END**

**(Hope you liked it! Thank you everyone who reviewed this story. This was just my take on what had happened during Ginny's first year. And while some people say that the two of them shouldn't have ended up together, I couldn't think of anyone else that I would rather have. I mean, sure Ginny saw him as sort of a rockstar figure when she was young, but she does truly love him for being 'just Harry'. And if Harry's happy shouldn't that enough for everyone? I hope that you had enjoyed the ending, and for those of you asking me to do the rest of Ginny's years at Hogwarts, sorry. But I'm already having a hard enough time doing a story from Dumbledore's view through all seven. But now that this story is done, I've been thinking of doing another story from someone else's point of view from Harry Potter… HEDWIG! XD You don't get to many Hedwig stories and I'm going to add one! I'll be putting it up as soon as I finish the first few chapters. Again, I hope you enjoyed this story and thanks again for all your support.)**


End file.
